2000–01 Vancouver Grizzlies Season
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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. No ...
was the Grizzlies' sixth season in the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. 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 cit ...
. For the third straight year, the Grizzlies had the second overall pick in the
2000 NBA draft The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts (through 2010) all took place at The Theater at Madis ...
, which they used to select
Stromile Swift Stromile Emanuel Swift ( ; born November 21, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers before being selected second overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 2000 NBA draft. At 6' ...
out of
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
. 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 Universit ...
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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...
, re-acquired
Tony Massenburg Tony Arnel Massenburg (born July 31, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Massenburg was on the active roster of 12 different teams, which was an NBA record shared with Joe Smith, Jim Jackson, Chucky Brown, and Ish Smit ...
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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...
, 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 l ...
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 current assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lowe played college basketball and served as the head coach at ...
, the Grizzlies lost seven straight afterwards, losing 21 of their next 25 games. On February 19, 2001, 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 Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
to discuss a deal between the city and the team. Other city candidates for the team's relocation included
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
,
Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
and
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. The NBA would grant the team permission to move to Memphis, as the NBA determined that its time in Vancouver was a failure. At mid-season, 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 star ...
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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
in exchange for
Erick Strickland Demerick Montae "Erick" Strickland (born November 25, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life & college career Born in Opelika, Alabama, Strickland attended ...
. 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...
, 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 ...
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 and current head coach at California State University, Sacramento. He played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the ...
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, (formerly General Motors Place), is a multi-purpose arena 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 u ...
in Vancouver. The Grizzlies lost 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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...
, 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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
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 (NBA). 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. Notab ...
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 Southwest Division of the ...
. 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...
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 Game, NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol ...
), 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
, 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
, and Abdul-Rauf and
Doug West Jeffery Douglas West (born May 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who is an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A swingman from Villanova University, West was sel ...
both retired.


Draft picks


Roster


Regular season


Season standings


Record vs. opponents


Game log


Player statistics


Ragular season


Award winners


Transactions


References

*
Grizzlies on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Vancouver Grizzlies Season Vancouver Grizzlies seasons
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