The 1999–2000 NBA season was the Grizzlies' 5th season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. After finishing the lockout season with the worst record, the Grizzlies received the second overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft, and selected

Steve Francis Steven D'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft and was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year (along with Elton Brand) in his fi ...

from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. However, Francis refused to play for the Canadian team, and was later on traded to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

in exchange for second-year guard

Michael Dickerson Michael DeAngelo Dickerson (born June 25, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who was a member of the Houston Rockets and Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The shooting guard was ...

Othella Harrington Othella Harrington (born January 31, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. After he finished his high school career at Murrah High School, he played in college at Georgetown University where he teamed with future NBA supers ...

Brent Price Hartley Brent Price (born December 9, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the brother of 4-time NBA All-Star, Mark Price. Early years Price was ...

and

Antoine Carr Antoine Labotte Carr (born July 23, 1961) is an American retired basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dawg", he played power forward (and sometimes center) for six different teams in the National Basketball Association across 16 seasons. Early life ...

; Dickerson would reunite with his former

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

teammate, second-year star

Mike Bibby Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the head coach for Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, ...

. Francis, now with the Rockets, would be named Rookie of the Year along with

Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player and the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball for Duke, he was selecte ...

of the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. During the off-season, the Grizzlies signed free agents

Grant Long Grant Andrew Long (born March 12, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. He played over 1,000 games for the National Basketball Association over a 15-year career. Long had two relatives who were playing in the NBA during hi ...

, and three-point specialist Dennis Scott. After a 3–3 start to the season, the team still struggled posting an 11-game losing streak, as head coach Brian Hill was fired after a 4–18 start, and was replaced with assistant

Lionel Hollins Lionel Eugene Hollins (born October 19, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach and former player currently serving as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Portland ...

. The Grizzlies went on a 12–game losing streak between February and March, losing 14 of their 15 games in March, and finishing last place in the Midwest Division with a 22–60 record, which was the first time the franchise had won 20 or more games in a full season.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim Julius Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who is the president of the NBA G League. Nicknamed Reef, he previously served as the director of player personnel for the Sacramento Kings ...

averaged 20.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, while Dickerson averaged 18.2 points and 1.4 steals per game, and Bibby provided the team with 14.5 points, 8.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. In addition, Harrington contributed 13.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and

Bryant Reeves Bryant Reeves (born June 8, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Reeves spent his entire career with the National Basketball Association's Vancouver Grizzlies, playing with the team from 1995 until 2001. He was nicknamed "B ...

provided with 8.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Scott contributed 5.6 points per game, while Long provided with 4.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, but only played just 42 games due to a hand injury. Following the season, Scott was traded along with second-year guard Felipe López, and

Cherokee Parks Cherokee Bryan Parks (born October 11, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6 ft 11 in (211 cm), 240 lb (109 kg) center, Parks playe ...

to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

, but was released to free agency, while Carr retired, and Hollins was fired as head coach.

Offseason

Draft

The Grizzlies originally had three picks entering the Draft.

was the 2nd overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft from the

. Francis most notably cried after being chosen by Vancouver, swearing the

would regret selecting

first overall instead. Following Vancouver's draft, Francis publicly announced that he did not want to play for the Grizzlies, citing the distance from his Maryland home, taxes, endorsements, and God's will. Francis was heavily criticized for his antics, especially in Vancouver. Following his public outburst, Francis was traded to the

that summer in a three-team, 11-player deal that brought

, plus first- and second-round picks to the Grizzlies. He and Brand shared Rookie of the Year honors. Obinna Ekezie from the

was their second pick. Their final pick in the draft was

Antwain Smith Antwain Smith (born May 1, 1975) is an American professional basketball player in the small forward position. He attended Saint Paul's College from 1995 to 1999. Upon college graduation, Smith was selected with the 51st pick of the 1999 NBA Dra ...

from the Saint Paul's College.

Roster

Roster notes

*Rookie point guard

Milt Palacio Milton Sigmund Palacio (born February 7, 1978) is a Belizean American professional basketball coach and former player. Early life Palacio, a Belizean citizen, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by Belizean parents. College career P ...

also holds American citizenship.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Season

Awards and records

Transactions

References

Grizzlies on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:1999-2000 Vancouver Grizzlies Season Vancouver Grizzlies seasons

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Van