99 Fun Facts About Memphis Grizzlies

What is the name of the Grizzlies' home arena in Memphis, opened in 2004?

FedExForum, named for the delivery giant headquartered in Memphis, opened downtown in September 2004 and is shared with the University of Memphis Tigers.

Which name was first proposed for the Vancouver NBA franchise before objections forced a change?

The club was first announced as the Vancouver Mounties, but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police objected to the use of its nickname, so the owners switched to Grizzlies before the 1995 debut.

Which centre, nicknamed 'Big Country', was the Grizzlies' first-ever draft pick in 1995?

Bryant Reeves, the Oklahoma State centre taken sixth in 1995, played all six of Vancouver's seasons, but chronic back pain ended his career before he played a regular-season game in Memphis.

Which unwanted NBA single-season record did the Vancouver Grizzlies set in 1995–96?

Most consecutive losses: after winning their first two games ever, the Grizzlies lost 19 in a row, then dropped 23 straight late in the season, a single-season NBA record at the time.

Which 1999 draftee refused to play in Vancouver and was traded to Houston in an 11-player deal?

Steve Francis forced the three-team, 11-player trade to Houston in August 1999 and shared Rookie of the Year there; in December 2008 the Rockets traded him to the Grizzlies, for whom he never played a game.

What were the Vancouver Grizzlies' original team colours?

Turquoise, bronze and red, with black trim, were announced with the name in August 1994; Memphis wore the turquoise look again in 2019–20 and the white version for its 30th anniversary in 2024–25.

Which Chicago businessman bought the Grizzlies for $160 million and moved them to Memphis?

Michael Heisley, a Chicago industrialist, bought the Grizzlies in 2000 for about $160 million, saying he had no intention of moving them; a year later he asked the NBA to let him relocate.

What left the Vancouver Grizzlies' owners losing money by 2001?

Weak dollar: the Canadian currency's slide and falling attendance left the owners losing money; the buyer of 2000 had pledged to keep the team in Vancouver, yet the NBA approved its move in July 2001.

Who persuaded the Grizzlies to keep their name when the team weighed a change after moving to Memphis?

Fans and season-ticket holders were asked about a new name after the first Memphis season and overwhelmingly wanted to keep 'Grizzlies', even though no grizzly bears live anywhere near Tennessee.

Where did the Grizzlies play their first three seasons in Memphis?

The Pyramid on the Mississippi riverfront later became a Bass Pro Shops megastore.

Who won Rookie of the Year in the Grizzlies' first season in Memphis?

Pau Gasol cost the Grizzlies their franchise star in a draft-night trade with Atlanta, then averaged 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds to win Rookie of the Year in the team's first Memphis season.

Which Hall of Fame Laker became the Grizzlies' GM in 2002 and won Executive of the Year two years later?

Jerry West left the Lakers for a franchise that had never had a winning season; within two years Memphis jumped from 23 wins to 50 and he was voted 2004 Executive of the Year.

The Grizzlies' 2003 first-round pick, worth Anthony, Bosh or Wade, had been traded in 1997 for which player?

Otis Thorpe played only 47 games for Vancouver before being traded on; the protected pick finally conveyed as the second overall choice of 2003, which Detroit spent on Darko Miličić.

Who won 2004 Coach of the Year after leading the Grizzlies to their first playoff berth and 50 wins?

Hubie Brown took over a winless team eight games into 2002–03; a season later he won 50 games, delivered the franchise's first winning record and playoff berth, and was voted Coach of the Year.

How many straight playoff games did the Grizzlies lose before their first postseason win, in 2011?

12 straight losses came in three first-round sweeps, in 2004, 2005 and 2006; when Memphis finally won a playoff game in 2011, it went on to take the series as an eighth seed.

Which newly drafted forward did the Grizzlies get from Houston in the 2006 trade for Shane Battier?

Rudy Gay, picked eighth by Houston that June, spent seven seasons in Memphis before the team flipped him to Toronto in a 2013 three-team deal that brought Tayshaun Prince.

Which college did Mike Conley lead to the 2007 national title game before the Grizzlies drafted him?

Ohio State lost that final to Florida with freshmen Mike Conley and Greg Oden; Memphis, holding the best lottery odds after a 22–60 season, slid to fourth in the draft and took Conley there.

The 2008 trade that sent the Grizzlies' franchise star to the Lakers brought back the draft rights to which future All-Star?

Marc Gasol was the younger brother of Pau, the star Memphis had just traded away; he became a three-time All-Star and the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year.

Which centre did the Grizzlies draft right after Blake Griffin in 2009, later trading him for Shane Battier?

Hasheem Thabeet, the 7-foot-3 Connecticut centre picked right behind Griffin in 2009, was demoted to the D-League in his rookie year and sent to Houston for Shane Battier in February 2011.

Which superstar guard signed with the Grizzlies in 2009 but left the team after only three games?

Allen Iverson signed a one-year deal in September 2009, played three road games off the bench, then left unhappy with a reserve role and was waived that November without ever playing in Memphis.

What nickname described the Grizzlies' defence-first, paint-heavy style of the 2010s?

Grit and Grind was the label for the bruising teams that reached seven straight playoffs from 2011 to 2017, and it gave the team's home arena its nickname, the Grindhouse.

Which top seed did the eighth-seed Grizzlies upset in six games in 2011?

San Antonio Spurs held the West's best record, yet lost in six to a Memphis team that had never won a playoff game before the series; only one eighth seed had previously won a best-of-seven.

Which 34-year-old technology billionaire became the Grizzlies' controlling owner in 2012?

Robert Pera, founder of a wireless-networking company, was approved as owner in October 2012; in his first season the Grizzlies won a club-record 56 games and reached their first conference finals.

Which team did the Grizzlies beat to reach their first conference finals, in 2013?

Oklahoma City Thunder, the West's top seed, had beaten Memphis in seven games at the same stage in 2011; this time the Grizzlies won in five, then were swept in the conference finals.

Zach Randolph was suspended for Game 7 of the 2014 first round for punching which Thunder centre?

Steven Adams took the punch late in Game 6; without the suspended Randolph, Memphis lost Game 7 and a series in which four straight games had gone to overtime.

Which two departures in the summer of 2017 closed the door on the Grizzlies' defence-first era?

Zach Randolph and Tony Allen left as free agents that summer, for Sacramento and New Orleans; after seven straight playoff runs, Memphis lost 60 games the next season.

Which team handed the Grizzlies a franchise-worst 61-point defeat in March 2018?

Charlotte Hornets won 140–79 that night against an injury-hit team on its way to 22–60; less than four years later Memphis set the NBA record the other way, beating Oklahoma City by 73.

To which team was the Grizzlies' Defensive Player of the Year centre traded in February 2019?

Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA title four months after the trade, with him at centre; Memphis sent Mike Conley to Utah that summer, ending an era.

Who was drafted just before the Grizzlies' Ja Morant in 2019?

Zion Williamson went first to New Orleans, but a knee injury delayed his debut until January 2020 and held him to 24 games, and Morant, taken 2nd, won Rookie of the Year.

Who was named the Grizzlies' head coach in June 2019?

Taylor Jenkins, a 34-year-old Milwaukee assistant when hired, won a franchise-record 250 games, yet was fired with nine games left in 2024–25 and the team at 44–29.

Which two teams did the Grizzlies beat in the 2021 play-in tournament?

San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors fell in three days, 100–96 in Memphis and 117–112 in overtime on the road behind Ja Morant's 35 points; the Warriors, eighth in the standings, missed the playoffs.

Which division title, won in 2021–22, was the first in Grizzlies franchise history?

Southwest Division champions for the first time in 2021–22, the Grizzlies clinched with a one-point win over San Antonio, ending 26 seasons without a division crown, and took the West's second seed.

Which Grizzlies big man was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2022–23?

Jaren Jackson Jr. had foot surgery that summer and missed the first 14 games, yet still led the NBA with 3.0 blocks a game and became the first Grizzly to win the award since 2013.

For how many games was Ja Morant suspended at the start of the 2023–24 season?

25 games was the NBA's penalty for a second video of Morant holding a gun; he returned on 19 December 2023 with a buzzer-beating winner at New Orleans, then was lost for the season after nine games.

When the performer behind the Grizzlies' bear mascot fell ill in 2007, the team's fundraising drive supported which Memphis hospital?

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital received the donations; the team refused to replace the performer during his cancer treatment, so mascots from other clubs filled in until he returned in 2008.

What is the name of the gold rally cloths handed out at every Grizzlies home playoff game?

Growl Towels, gold rally towels waved by the home crowd, have been handed out at Grizzlies playoff games since the franchise's first postseason appearance in 2004.

Which Memphis rapper wrote 'Whoop That Trick', the 'Hustle & Flow' song that Grizzlies crowds chant?

Al Kapone wrote it as a club record before it reached the 2005 film; a playoff crowd started the chant on its own in the early 2010s, and he says he never learned who began it.

Which slogan on 1968 Memphis strike placards inspired the lettering of the Grizzlies' first Nike 'City' uniform?

'I Am a Man' was carried by Memphis sanitation workers who struck in February 1968 after two colleagues were crushed to death in a garbage compactor; the 2017–18 City uniform borrowed the placards' lettering.

The Grizzlies' 2020–21 black, gold and turquoise 'City' uniform honoured which Memphis musical institution?

Isaac Hayes and Stax Records, the Memphis soul label behind his Oscar-winning 'Theme from Shaft', were saluted in black and gold in 2020–21; the team returned to the theme for its 2025–26 City uniform.

Which final name of Memphis's ABA team inspired the Grizzlies' 2024–25 City uniform?

The Memphis Sounds name was used for the ABA club's last season, 1974–75, after spells as the Pros and the Tams; the 2024–25 City uniform revived the Sounds look.

Which Memphis thoroughfare lends its name to a shade of blue in the Grizzlies' 2004 colour scheme?

'Beale Street Blue', named for the city's historic blues-club street, joined Memphis Midnight Blue, Smoke Blue and Grizzlies Gold in the 2004 palette adopted for the move to the new downtown arena.

Which rival did the Grizzlies meet in the first round of both the 2012 and 2013 playoffs?

Los Angeles Clippers won a seven-game series in 2012; a year later Memphis lost the first two games of the rematch, then won four straight to take it in six.

Which former Defensive Player of the Year did the Grizzlies trade for in June 2023?

Marcus Smart, the 2022 winner, arrived from Boston in a three-team deal, but injuries held him to 39 games across two seasons before Memphis traded him to Washington in February 2025.

Which player, drafted 30th overall in 2020, made the All-Rookie team for Memphis?

Desmond Bane, taken 30th out of TCU in 2020 via a draft-night trade from Boston, shot 43 per cent from three as a rookie and made the All-Rookie Second Team.

Which forward, drafted third overall in 1996, became the Vancouver Grizzlies' leading scorer as a rookie?

Shareef Abdur-Rahim averaged 18.7 points in that rookie season and 20.8 over five years in Vancouver; on draft night in 2001 the team traded him to Atlanta for the third overall pick.

Which former Knicks coach was the Vancouver Grizzlies' first general manager?

Stu Jackson, who had coached the Knicks in 1989–90, was hired as Vancouver's first general manager in 1994 and coached the rest of 1996–97 himself after firing Brian Winters midway through the season.

Which Vancouver Canucks owner led the drive to bring the NBA to Vancouver in the early 1990s?

Arthur Griffiths, who owned the Canucks and was building their new arena, won the NBA expansion franchise in 1994 and later ceded control of both teams to John McCaw Jr.

Who was the last active NBA player to have played for the Vancouver Grizzlies?

Mike Bibby, drafted second by Vancouver in 1998, was traded on draft night in 2001, days before the move was approved, so he never played for Memphis; his last NBA season was 2011–12 with the Knicks.

The Vancouver Grizzlies' first coach, Brian Winters, was traded as a player in the deal that sent which legend to the Lakers?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went from Milwaukee to Los Angeles in 1975 for a package that included the young Winters; twenty years later Winters coached the Grizzlies to a 15–67 debut and was fired midway through the next season.

In which Canadian province did the Grizzlies play before moving to Memphis?

British Columbia is home to the grizzly bears that gave the team its name; the Grizzlies played six seasons in Vancouver from 1995–96 and kept the name when they moved to bear-free Tennessee.

Which college program did Ja Morant star for before the Grizzlies drafted him?

Murray State found him by accident: an assistant coach looking for a snack at a 2016 camp heard a ball bouncing in a side gym and saw the overlooked Morant, who averaged 24.5 points and 10.0 assists as a sophomore.

What award did Ja Morant win at the end of the 2021-22 season, alongside his first All-Star start?

Ja Morant won the 2022 Most Improved Player award after lifting his scoring from 19.1 to 27.4 points per game, and he started the All-Star Game that February.

Which forward joined the Grizzlies on a four-year deal in July 2016 but played only 95 games in three injury-hit seasons?

Chandler Parsons arrived from Dallas after knee surgery and never played more than 36 games in a Memphis season; the Grizzlies traded him to Atlanta in 2019 with a year left on the deal.

Where in Memphis did Marc Gasol play high school basketball after his family moved to Tennessee?

Lausanne Collegiate was his school for two seasons after the family left Barcelona in 2001; he went home to turn professional in 2003 and came back to Memphis five years later as the Grizzlies' centre.

The Grizzlies' 2013 Defensive Player of the Year lasted until which pick of the 2007 draft?

48th: the future award winner was still playing in Spain when 47 other names were called; he reached the NBA only in 2008–09 and made the All-Rookie Second Team.

Whom did Marc Gasol pass in November 2018 to become the Grizzlies' all-time rebound leader?

Zach Randolph had pulled down 5,612 rebounds as a Grizzly; Marc Gasol passed him in November 2018, three months before being traded away.

Which trophy did the Vancouver Grizzlies contest each preseason against Canada's other NBA team?

Naismith Cup games were staged at neutral sites across Canada to promote the sport, and took their name from James Naismith, the Canadian who invented basketball.

Who took over as Grizzlies head coach in December 2004 after the incumbent abruptly resigned?

Mike Fratello left the TNT broadcast booth for a team that was 5–11; under him Memphis went 40–26 and reached the playoffs for the second straight season.

Who became the Grizzlies' general manager in June 2007 after his predecessor retired?

Chris Wallace, formerly the Celtics' general manager, arrived days before the 2007 draft and used the fourth pick on Mike Conley, who became the franchise's career scoring leader.

Which college did Jaren Jackson Jr. attend for one season before the Grizzlies drafted him fourth in 2018?

Michigan State played him under 22 minutes a game in his one season, yet Memphis, picking fourth after a 22–60 year, still took him.

Which Finnish coach was named the Grizzlies' head coach in May 2025?

Tuomas Iisalo, who had coached Paris Basketball to the 2024 EuroCup title, joined the Grizzlies as an assistant in 2024, became interim coach in March 2025 and was given the job permanently that May.

Which jersey number was the first the Grizzlies ever retired, in December 2021?

Number 50 belonged to a power forward whom three teams had traded away in three years before he reached Memphis in 2009; the franchise retired it on 11 December 2021, its first such honour.

Which Grizzlies forward, acquired on draft night in 2019, was born in Vancouver, the franchise's first home?

Brandon Clarke was born in Vancouver in 1996, a year after the Grizzlies began play there, and left for Arizona at three; Memphis traded for him on the night Oklahoma City drafted him 21st.

Which top-seeded team beat the Grizzlies in five games in the 2021 first round?

The top-seeded Utah Jazz won in five after Memphis stole Game 1 in Salt Lake City 112–109; Ja Morant scored 47 points in the Game 2 loss.

Which seventh seed knocked the second-seeded Grizzlies out of the 2023 playoffs?

The Los Angeles Lakers, seeded seventh after the play-in, won the 2023 first-round series in six games; Dillon Brooks was ejected from Game 3 for a blow to LeBron James.

Which Grizzlies rookie, the ninth pick in 2024, fouled out of his NBA debut in just 15 minutes?

Zach Edey, the 7-foot-4 Purdue centre taken ninth in 2024, picked up his sixth foul after roughly 15 minutes of his October 2024 debut, yet finished the season on the All-Rookie First Team.

Which team gave the Grizzlies four unprotected first-round picks for a shooting guard in June 2025?

The Orlando Magic paid four unprotected first-round picks, a pick swap and two veterans; their new guard started all 82 games the next season, while Memphis fell to 25–57.

What nickname does the Grizzlies' 2023 Defensive Player of the Year go by?

'The Block Panther' plays on the Marvel hero Black Panther, and fits a big man who led the NBA in blocks per game in both 2021–22 and 2022–23.

Which former MVP signed with the Grizzlies in the 2023 off-season?

Derrick Rose, the 2011 MVP, had played his one college season for the University of Memphis; the return lasted 24 injury-hit games in a 27–55 year, and he retired in 2024.

What name did GM Place, the Grizzlies' home for all six Vancouver seasons, take in 2010?

GM Place became Rogers Arena in July 2010 when Rogers Communications bought the naming rights; during the 2010 Winter Olympics it was temporarily called Canada Hockey Place.

Which 2014 signing passed Charles Barkley on the NBA career scoring list as a Grizzly?

Vince Carter signed with Memphis in July 2014 at age 37 and spent three seasons as a reserve, climbing past Charles Barkley on the all-time scoring list while there.

The Grizzlies' black sleeved uniform of 2017 paid tribute to whom?

The black sleeved uniform worn in January 2017 honoured Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in April 1968, the site of the National Civil Rights Museum.

Which team sent point guard Jason Williams to the Grizzlies in 2001?

The Sacramento Kings sent Jason Williams to the Grizzlies that June in a swap of starting point guards; 'White Chocolate' then ran the point through the franchise's first two playoff trips.

Which Grizzlies sharpshooter won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award for 2005–06?

Mike Miller had been Rookie of the Year as an Orlando starter in 2001; five years later he won the reserves' award with 13.7 points a game off the Memphis bench, then scored a then-franchise-record 45 in 2007.

Which 2008 third overall pick came to Memphis on draft night in a deal for Kevin Love?

O. J. Mayo, taken third by Minnesota, was swapped for Kevin Love that night and finished second for Rookie of the Year, but his NBA career ended with a drug-policy ban in 2016.

Who coached the Grizzlies in three separate stints, the last ending in 2013?

Lionel Hollins was Vancouver's interim coach in 1999–2000 and a four-game stand-in in 2004; his third spell, from 2009, ended when Memphis let his contract lapse weeks after its first conference finals.

Which Grizzlies coach, hired in 2013, had won five minor-league titles before the NBA?

Dave Joerger won five minor-league championships coaching the Dakota Wizards and Sioux Falls Skyforce, joined Memphis as an assistant in 2007 and was promoted to head coach in June 2013.

Which Grizzlies coach was fired in November 2017 soon after a publicised benching of his centre?

David Fizdale had reached the playoffs in his first season, but after eight straight losses and a fourth quarter spent with his star centre on the bench, he was fired on 27 November 2017 at 7–12.

Which Grizzlies executive won the NBA Executive of the Year award in 2022?

Zach Kleiman took charge of basketball operations in April 2019, drafted Ja Morant two months later, and was voted 2022 Executive of the Year after a 56-win season.

Which networking company was founded by the technology billionaire who bought the Grizzlies in 2012?

Ubiquiti Networks was started by a former Apple engineer whose bosses had ignored his idea for longer-range Wi-Fi; it went public in October 2011, a year before he was approved as the Grizzlies' owner.

Which NBA honour did Mike Conley first win as a Grizzly in 2014?

Sportsmanship Award voters chose Mike Conley for 2013–14, 2015–16 and 2018–19 in Memphis; a fourth in 2022–23, after he had left, gave him more than any other player in the award's history.

Against whom did Ja Morant post the Grizzlies' first playoff triple-double, in 2022?

Morant recorded the first playoff triple-double in franchise history against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2022 first round, then won Game 5 with a layup with one second left; Memphis took the series in six.

Which team eliminated the Grizzlies in the 2020 bubble play-in game?

The Portland Trail Blazers beat Memphis 126–122 in the 2020 bubble play-in on 15 August; as the ninth seed the Grizzlies needed two wins, so a single loss ended their season.

Where did the Grizzlies' G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, begin play in 2017?

Southaven, Mississippi, got the Memphis Hustle in 2017: with Minnesota buying the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies' affiliate until then, Memphis started a team of its own just across the state line.

What expansion fee did the Vancouver franchise pay to join the NBA?

US$125 million, the same as Toronto paid, was nearly four times the $32.5 million charged to the four teams added in 1988 and 1989, and the newcomers also had to play their first two seasons under a reduced salary cap.

Where did Bill Laurie intend to move the Grizzlies after his blocked 1999 purchase?

St. Louis was home to the NHL's Blues, which Laurie owned; he agreed to buy the Grizzlies in 1999 but walked away in January 2000 when the NBA would not let him move the team there.

Who was the last former Vancouver Grizzly on the Memphis roster, traded away in February 2008?

Stromile Swift, Vancouver's 2000 draft pick, spent a season in Houston before returning in the 2006 Battier trade; Memphis dealt him to New Jersey for Jason Collins in February 2008.

On which holiday in 2004 did the Grizzlies' Coach of the Year abruptly resign?

The resignation came on Thanksgiving Day 2004, with the coach citing health concerns barely seven months after collecting his Coach of the Year award.

How much was the five-year Grizzlies contract Mike Conley signed in July 2016?

Conley's five-year, $153 million deal in July 2016 was the largest contract by total value in NBA history at the time, signed by a player who had never been an All-Star.

Which Trail Blazer's collision fractured Mike Conley's face during the 2015 playoffs?

CJ McCollum collided with Conley late in Game 3 at Portland; Conley missed three games with facial fractures, then returned in a protective mask and scored 21 to win Game 2 against Golden State.

Which former Finals MVP was traded to the Grizzlies in 2019 but never played a game for them?

Andre Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP, arrived from Golden State with a first-round pick, stayed away while Memphis looked for a deal, and was traded to Miami in February 2020 for Justise Winslow.

What innovation debuted at the Grizzlies' arena in 2004 for fans seated behind the basket?

Transparent shot clocks, letting fans behind the basket see the play through them, were first used in the Grizzlies' new arena in 2004; the NBA later required them in every arena.

Which injured star did a Grizzlies forward replace on the 2000 US Olympic team?

Grant Hill withdrew with the ankle injury that would plague his career, and Vancouver's leading scorer took his place on the gold-medal-winning Sydney team.

Which former 'Showtime' Lakers guard did the Vancouver Grizzlies take from Indiana in the 1995 expansion draft?

Byron Scott, a three-time champion in Los Angeles, came off the bench in 80 games for the first Grizzlies team at 34, then returned to the Lakers for one last season.

Which Knicks point guard was the Vancouver Grizzlies' first pick in the 1995 expansion draft?

Greg Anthony started 68 games at point guard in the first season; the team's very first signing, Kevin Pritchard, left before playing a game and later ran NBA front offices.

Which Lithuanian centre did the Grizzlies receive when they traded away their Defensive Player of the Year centre in 2019?

Jonas Valančiūnas arrived with two other players and a second-round pick, re-signed that summer, and averaged a double-double in both of his full Memphis seasons.

The Grizzlies' 2022 Executive of the Year joined the franchise in 2015 in which role?

The executive joined in 2015 as team counsel, a legal role he took after Duke Law and a spell at a large law firm, and was running basketball operations within four years.

Which future six-time All-Star did the Grizzlies draft 24th in 2006 and trade to Houston three years later?

Kyle Lowry spent two and a half seasons in Memphis before a three-team deal sent him to Houston in February 2009; he went on to six All-Star teams and the 2019 NBA title.

Which former University of Memphis star joined the Grizzlies in the 2001 draft-night trade with Atlanta?

Lorenzen Wright, who had played his last high-school year and his college seasons in Memphis, arrived in the trade just as the franchise moved to the city and stayed for five seasons.