Memphis Grizzlies

• 1. Introduction

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  The Memphis Grizzlies were not always a Memphis team. They began in Vancouver, British Columbia, established in 1995 as part of the NBA's first expansion into Canada, alongside the Toronto Raptors. The Grizzlies spent six seasons at General Motors Place before applying to relocate to Memphis, Tennessee, on the 26th of March 2001. The NBA approved the move on the 3rd of July. When the franchise arrived in the American South, management briefly explored replacing the Grizzlies name with something more locally fitting. Memphis residents objected. Their city already had a team called the Grizzlies, a World Football League franchise that played from 1974 to 1975. The name stayed. What followed included draft disasters and a Hall of Fame rescue. A physical style of play eventually defined a generation of Memphis fans. Starting in 2011, the franchise strung together seven consecutive playoff appearances. None of that looked likely in 1995, when the team nearly launched under a very different name.

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• 2. Born in Vancouver

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  The team's first proposed name was the Vancouver Mounties. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police objected to the commercial use of their name, and a replacement had to be found. "Grizzlies" was chosen, named for the grizzly bear native to British Columbia. The name that came out of those deliberations proved more lasting than the city that created it.

  Memphis had a professional basketball tradition before the NBA arrived. The American Basketball Association's Memphis Sounds played in the city from 1970 to 1975. The newly arrived Grizzlies spent their first three Memphis seasons at the Pyramid Arena, a temporary home before FedExForum was ready. Memphis also became the easternmost city in the entire Western Conference when the Grizzlies relocated. The 2001 NBA draft, completed just after the relocation was approved, would soon deliver the franchise its first genuine star.

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• 3. The West Years

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  Pau Gasol arrived in Memphis not through a draft but through a trade. The Atlanta Hawks selected him third overall in the 2001 NBA draft, then sent him to the Grizzlies. The same draft delivered forward Shane Battier to Memphis with the sixth pick. Gasol's first Memphis season ended with him winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. His general manager, Billy Knight, was let go after that season.

  The franchise hired Jerry West in 2002 to replace him. West was a former Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer; he would later receive the 2003-04 NBA Executive of the Year Award. West removed head coach Sidney Lowe after an 0-8 start to the 2002-03 season and brought in veterans including Mike Miller and James Posey. He hired Hubie Brown as head coach. Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year Award. The Grizzlies made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2004. They entered as the sixth seed in the Western Conference and won a then-record 50 games. The San Antonio Spurs swept them out in four games.

  A trade from the Vancouver era still cast a long shadow. In 1997, the franchise had sent its first-round pick in the 2003 NBA draft to the Detroit Pistons for forward Otis Thorpe. The pick turned out to be the second overall selection, one that could have landed Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, or Dwyane Wade. The Pistons instead chose Darko Miličić, widely considered one of the biggest draft busts of that year. Thorpe played only 47 games for Memphis before being released. West guided the team through two more playoff seasons before the 2006-07 year ended with a league-worst 22-60 record. He announced his resignation shortly after.

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• 4. Grit and Grind

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  The 2007 NBA draft gave Memphis the fourth overall pick, even though the franchise had held the lottery's best odds for first place. Mike Conley Jr. was selected with that pick. On the 1st of February 2008, Pau Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis received Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, and two first-round picks. The deal also included draft rights to Marc Gasol, Pau's younger brother.

  Allen Iverson signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal on the 9th of September 2009, but played three games, none in Memphis, before being waived. Zach Randolph joined the roster and played at an All-Star level. With Randolph, Marc Gasol, and Conley as the foundation, Memphis built a distinctive style of play. The team and its fans called it "Grit and Grind." In the 2010-11 season, the Grizzlies led the NBA in steals per game and were the highest-scoring team in the paint.

  The Grizzlies returned to the playoffs in 2010-11 for the first time in five years. They clinched the spot on the 8th of April with a 101-96 home win over the Sacramento Kings. As the eighth seed, they faced the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The Grizzlies won their first playoff game in franchise history on the 17th of April with a 101-98 road victory. Their first home playoff win, 91-88, followed on the 23rd of April. On the 29th of April, they closed out the Spurs 99-91 in Game 6 to take the series 4-2. This was only the fourth time in NBA history that an eighth seed had beaten a first seed. It was only the second such outcome in a best-of-seven format. The Oklahoma City Thunder ended the run in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.

  The 2012-13 Grizzlies finished 56-26, the best record in franchise history. Marc Gasol was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Memphis defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 in the Conference semifinals and reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time. The San Antonio Spurs swept them in that series. Tony Allen and Zach Randolph, the players most associated with the era, both departed in 2017. Allen signed with the New Orleans Pelicans and Randolph moved to the Sacramento Kings. On the 6th of July 2017, the team announced it would retire Randolph's number 50 jersey.

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• 5. Ja Morant's Memphis

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  Marc Gasol was traded to the Toronto Raptors during the 2018-19 season. Memphis received Jonas Valančiūnas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles, and a 2024 second-round pick. After the season, Mike Conley Jr. was traded to the Utah Jazz. Memphis received Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder, and the 23rd pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Controlling owner Robert Pera had purchased the franchise in 2012 in a deal in the $350 million range. He announced a restructuring of basketball operations before the 2019-20 season. Taylor Jenkins was named head coach on the 12th of June 2019.

  With the second pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Memphis selected Ja Morant. The Oklahoma City Thunder took Brandon Clarke 21st and immediately traded him to Memphis for the 23rd pick and a 2024 second-round selection. Morant's debut season ended in the play-in round, where the Portland Trail Blazers beat Memphis 126-122. He still won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, averaging 17.8 points and 7.3 assists per game. He earned 99 out of 100 first-place votes on the ballot.

  In the 2020-21 season, Memphis won two play-in games to secure the eighth seed. A 100-96 home win over the San Antonio Spurs on the 19th of May came first. Then, on the 21st of May, Morant scored 35 points in a 117-112 road win over the Golden State Warriors. The Utah Jazz eliminated Memphis in five games in the first round. The 2021-22 Grizzlies achieved several franchise firsts. They finished 56-26 and clinched their first division title on the 30th of March 2022, with a win over the San Antonio Spurs. That gave them the Western Conference's second seed, the highest standing in franchise history.

  Jaren Jackson Jr. was named an All-Star for the first time in the 2022-23 season. He also won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award as the team finished 51-31. Memphis lost in the first round, falling 2-4 to the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. The 2023-24 season proved to be the most difficult since the rebuild began. Morant served a 25-game suspension. He returned to hit a game-winning buzzer-beater in his first game back, then suffered a shoulder injury after nine more games. The Grizzlies finished 27-55, setting a record for the most players used in a single season. A 48-34 record in 2024-25 ended in a first-round sweep, 0-4, against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Memphis finished 25-57 the following season.

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• 6. Beale Street Blue

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  When the Grizzlies arrived in Memphis, they kept the turquoise and red color scheme from Vancouver. The city name was added to both the white and black uniforms. After one season, the team replaced the original "G-bear" logo with a "howling bear" design. The 2004 move to FedExForum brought a full redesign: navy blue, Beale Street blue, smoke blue, and gold replaced the original palette. The new lettering used a split-letter style reminiscent of the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Cavaliers uniforms from the 1990s. As a result of the 2004 logo change, the Grizzlies became one of nine NBA teams with no basketball on their logo. In 2017, the team wore a black sleeved uniform as a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

  The franchise's "City" uniforms have drawn on Memphis history throughout. An early version used lettering from the "I am a Man" protest banners of the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike. The 2018-19 design honored professional wrestling in Memphis. The 2020-21 uniform paid tribute to Isaac Hayes and Stax Records, with a black base, metallic gold lettering, and turquoise trim. In 2022-23, the team wore black with Beale Street blue, chrome, and gold to honor the Memphis rap genre. The 2024-25 version celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Memphis Sounds' rebrand. It used a red base, Beale Street blue and gold accents, and a throwback "Memphis" wordmark in homage to the Sounds' logo.

  Grizz, the official mascot, debuted with the franchise in 1995 and was named the 2011 NBA Mascot of the Year. In 2007, the performer who played Grizz was diagnosed with cancer. The team kept Grizz off the court until he recovered, with mascots from other franchises filling in during his absence. The Grizzlies also launched the "Friends of Grizz" program, directing donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

  The Growl Towels are the gold rally cloths given to fans at every home playoff game. They first appeared in 2004, during the third and fourth games of the franchise's inaugural playoff series. Originally white, they switched to gold when the team changed colors for the 2004-05 season. By the 2013 run to the Western Conference Finals, the Grizzlies had printed over 100,000 of them. Since 2013, each towel has carried a rotating slogan, including "Grit & Grind," "All Heart," and "Ain't No Runnin' in the M."

  "Whoop That Trick" by Memphis rapper Al Kapone, from the locally filmed Hustle & Flow, became a standard at Grizzlies home games. It took hold as a spontaneous fan chant during the 2013 playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan later addressed the rivalry directly. He said of Memphis, "If anybody is our rival, I'd say Memphis. I hate every other NBA team in the league."

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