The

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. Not ...

was the Grizzlies' sixth 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 ...

. It would also be their final year in

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 ...

. For the third straight year, the Grizzlies had the second pick in the 2000 NBA draft, which they used to select Stromile Swift out of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. During the off-season, the team acquired

Isaac Austin Isaac Edward "Ike" Austin (born August 18, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several different teams in the National Basketball Association between 1991 and 2002. He is the uncle of former Baylor University b ...

from 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 ...

, re-acquired

Tony Massenburg Tony Arnel Massenburg (born July 31, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He shares a National Basketball Association (NBA) record with Chucky Brown, Joe Smith & Jim Jackson for having played with twelve different teams ov ...

after one season with 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 ...

, and signed free agent

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Wayne Jackson; March 9, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine years with the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Griz ...

. Entering their sixth season, the rumors of a move became a reality. Club owner

Michael Heisley Michael E. Heisley (March 13, 1937 – April 26, 2014) was an American businessman and former majority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. Biography A computer salesman by trade, Heisley used $150,000 from selling his home and $10 million in bank lo ...

decided that it was time for the Grizzlies to move on. After five losing seasons had given the team low morale and decreasing support in the community, the team found itself in debt. Despite winning four of their first five games under new head coach

Sidney Lowe Sidney Rochell Lowe (born January 21, 1960) is an American former basketball player and coach. He is currently an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lowe played college basketball and served ...

, the Grizzlies lost seven straight afterwards, losing 21 of their next 25 games. On February 19, the Grizzlies were in last place in the Midwest Division with a record of 17–36, and Heisley traveled to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

to discuss a deal between the city and the team. Other city candidates for the team's relocation included

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

and

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The NBA would grant the team permission to move to Memphis, as the NBA determined that its time in Vancouver was a failure. At midseason, the team traded

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 ...

to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

in exchange for

Erick Strickland Demerick Montae "Erick" Strickland (born November 25, 1973) is an American professional basketball player formerly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Opelika, Alabama, Strickland attended Bellevue West High School in Bellevue ...

. Despite a five-game winning streak in mid February, the Grizzlies would lose seven straight again, then post a nine-game losing streak in March, finishing in last place again with a record of 23 wins and 59 losses, which was their best record in Vancouver. The Grizzlies lost their final two games against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

, finishing with a 4–7 record in regular season games against their Canadian rival.

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 ...

led the team with 20.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, while

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 b ...

finished second on the team in scoring averaging 16.3 points per game, and

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, ...

provided with 15.9 points and 8.4 assists per game. On April 14, the Grizzlies played their final home game at

General Motors Place Rogers Arena is a multi-purpose arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when Ge ...

in Vancouver. The Grizzlies lost to the

, 100–95 as

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 ...

, who had been drafted by the Grizzlies but refused to play for the team, was booed throughout the game. In their final game on April 18 as the "Vancouver Grizzlies", the club played the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in Oakland. The Grizzlies beat the Warriors 95–81 to avoid another 60-loss season. The franchise moved to Memphis, and began play in the

2001–02 NBA season The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their third straight championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the 2002 NBA Finals. Notable occurre ...

as the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. Also following the season, Abdur-Rahim was traded to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

for the 3rd pick in the draft (

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

), while Bibby was traded to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, Strickland signed as a free agent with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, and Abdul-Rauf and

Doug West Jeffery Douglas West (born May 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. A shooting guard/small forward from Villanova University, West was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 1989 NBA draft. An ...

both retired.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Award winners

Transactions

References

Grizzlies on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Vancouver Grizzlies Season Vancouver Grizzlies seasons

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