We Reminisce: Vancouver Grizzlies
When the Vancouver Grizzlies entered the League to start the 1995/96 season, they appealed to me. Perhaps it was because the Grizzlies were the first NBA team to have a website. Or maybe it was the fact that I love the idea of an expansion draft – a function I always used growing up playing NBA Live. During their six-year existence, there was definitely some talent on those squads with players such as Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Mike Bibby, Antonio Daniels, Michael Dickerson, Felipe Lopez and Bryant “Big Country” Reeves donning the teal, black and red. But for some reason, they couldn’t get it done. Being forced to trade No. 2 overall pick (and future Rookie of the Year) Steve Francis in a three-team, 11-player deal didn’t help, but what can you do? Although they never won more than 23 games in a season, cycled through five coaches in six years, and never had an NBA All-Star, they will not be forgotten.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:54 am
Michorizo says:
Steve Francis ruined the Franchise by demanding a trade…isn’t this how he got his nickname?
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 pm
BIZZZZZZ says:
RIP Van City.
Big Country killed them.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
it aint easy being green says:
ALL HAIL BIG COUNTRY (and his sky hook)
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:12 pm
loc says:
Big Countrys not too blame, he tried, he did ok. Did better than Darko, Kwame and Olowakandi.
It was definitely Steve Francis who killed them, before that they werent doing too bad, on the way to something decent. They traded him and just became an awful team that no one in their right mind would pay to watch, I didn’t even like watching them on TV or anything, and they were a Canadian team and I rooted for them hard early on.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
T Dubbs says:
They sucked.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:39 pm
deeds says:
fuck steve francis
Vancouver is a hell of a lot better city than Memphis, if management wasn’t so terrible at the time this could have been a great basketball city.
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
123 says:
vancouver would be a great nba city if the team was actually decent. attendance was not as bad as ppl indicated.
steve francis demanding a trade was the final dagger but i think we are all forgetting who put the team together in the first place. STU JACKSON. the guy who put together the first Team USA to lose in international competition since how long? the same guy who issued the suspensions in the suns-spurs series a few years back…it was just horrible management.
safe to say, i do not feel sorry for steve francis right now that his career is going the way it is. perhaps it’s karma.
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
D.H. says:
being born and raised in Vancouver as well as still residing there, this is still a sore spot with me. Michael Heisley can rot in hell for all I care, the guy had no right to do what he did. And who’s idea was it to have Stu Jackson as the guy calling the shots (David Stern anybody?) Vancouver was and still is a great city for a ‘well managed’ NBA team . . . now if only I had a couple $100 million . . .
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
loc says:
Stu Jacksons a good name to bring up,
he was the 90s Isiah Thomas, I always thought he shoulda been gone.
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Amar says:
the one thing I didn’t get about the vancouver grizz was this: a lot of NBA players like to smoke up (it’s not a race or a class thing, it’s just a form of recreation) — vancouver is one of the most free and pervasive cities in north america, and pot isn’t fully illegal there.
also for shame Dime for not mentioning blue edwards in your tags: http://allthatjazzbasketball.blogspot.com/2008/08/flashback-friday-blue-edwards.html
and yeah, steve franchise has killed every team he has played for.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
snook says:
I was at that home opener..
fuck Michael Heisley
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:44 pm
WEST says:
Its strange how the Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies came into the league at the same time and only one survived.
I think Damon Stoudamire and later Vince Carter had a big part in the Raptors survival. Its true Stevie Francis could’ve been that type of franchise player for the Grizz.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
KJ says:
mannn. why you gotta do that aron.
being from vancouver, the grizzlies will always be missed. everyone here knows the reason they werent successful was cause of STU JACKSON. dude drafted so bad. i dont even know why he was the GM for that long. and on top of that they only stayed for 5 years? shouldve let us have our growing pains.
December 21st, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Speed says:
I agree Stu Jackson was a key reason for the Grizzlies ineptitude. He drafted Francis, despite Francis indication that he would not go to Vancouver, he didn’t want Steve Nash, b/c he didn’t think he was that good and he used the Grizzlies first pick to draft Big Country Reeves! Sigh!