The 1995–96 Vancouver Grizzlies season was the inaugural season for the Vancouver Grizzlies in the National Basketball Association. The Grizzlies, along with the Toronto Raptors, became expansion NBA franchises in 1995; they were the first NBA teams to play in Canada since the 1946–47 Toronto Huskies.
Season summary
Off-season The Grizzlies revealed their new primary logo, adding turquoise, brown, black, red and white to their color scheme; the team's primary logo featured a brown grizzly bear with black shadows, holding a red basketball below the city name "Vancouver" in red letters with a black outline, and the team name "Grizzlies" in turquoise letters with a black outline, brown shadows and white scratch marks. The team also revealed new white home uniforms, and new turquoise road uniforms, which featured Native American markings on the trims of their jerseys, waistband, and the bottom right leg of their shorts, all surrounded by a red outline. In addition, both uniforms featured the city and team name on the front of their jerseys, while the shorts featured the team's primary logo of a grizzly bear on the left leg.
The Grizzlies' new primary logo would remain in use until 2001, where the team relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, and replaced the word "Vancouver" with "Memphis" on the logo; the original logo would last until 2004, while the new uniforms would remain in use until 2000. The Grizzlies played their home games at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
In the 1995 NBA expansion draft, the team selected veteran players like Greg Anthony, Blue Edwards, Byron Scott, Benoit Benjamin, Gerald Wilkins and Kenny Gattison; the team also signed free agents Chris King and undrafted power rookie forward Ashraf Amaya, and acquired Anthony Avent from the Orlando Magic. The Grizzlies received the sixth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected center Bryant Reeves out of Oklahoma State University, and also hired Brian Winters as their first ever head coach.
Regular season The Grizzlies made their NBA regular season debut on November 3, 1995, in which the team defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on the road, 92–80 at the Rose Garden Arena; Benjamin led the Grizzlies with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Two nights later on November 5, the Grizzlies had a successful home debut at General Motors Place by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 100–98. Scott led the team with 18 points off the bench, while King made a tip-in from Scott's missed jumper at the buzzer to win the game.
However, despite winning their first two games, the Grizzlies struggled and posted a dreadful 19-game losing streak between November and December afterwards, leading to an awful 2–19 start to the season. After 13 games, Benjamin was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Eric Murdock, and second-year forward Eric Mobley. The Grizzlies posted a six-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 10–37 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Gattison to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Jeff Turner; however, Turner never played for the Grizzlies due to a season-ending knee injury he sustained with the Magic. The Grizzlies then suffered a dreadful 23-game losing streak between February and April, including a winless month in March, in which the team posted an 0–17 record during that month, but managed to close the season with two straight victories. The Grizzlies finished their inaugural season in last place in the Midwest Division with a league-worst record of 15 wins and 67 losses.
Anthony led the Grizzlies in scoring with a low team-high average of 14.0 points, and contributed 6.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while Reeves averaged 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Edwards provided the team with 12.7 points and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, Scott played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 10.2 points per game, while Murdock contributed 9.1 points, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 64 games after the trade, and King provided with 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Wilkins averaged 6.7 points per game, but only played just 28 games due to back and Achilles tendon injuries, rookie shooting guard, and second-round draft pick Lawrence Moten contributed 6.6 points per game, Amaya averaged 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and Avent provided with 5.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Reeves was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team. Anthony finished tied in 14th place in Most Improved Player voting. The Grizzlies finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 654,013 at General Motors Place during the regular season.
Aftermath Following the season, Scott re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, while Wilkins signed with the Orlando Magic, Murdock signed with the Denver Nuggets, Amaya signed with the Washington Bullets, and King, Avent and Turner were all released to free agency.
Offseason
NBA expansion draft The Grizzlies roster was filled during the 1995 NBA expansion draft. By way of winning a coin flip with the Toronto Raptors, Vancouver elected to choose the former, between a higher NBA draft pick and the first pick in the NBA expansion draft, and therefore had the second pick in this draft. With their first pick, the Grizzlies selected point guard Greg Anthony from the New York Knicks.
Pick Player Position Nationality Former Team2Greg AnthonyPoint guard New York Knicks4Rodney DentCenter Orlando Magic6Antonio HarveyForward Los Angeles Lakers8Reggie SlaterPower forward-center Denver Nuggets10Trevor RuffinPoint guard Phoenix Suns12Derrick PhelpsPoint guard Sacramento Kings14Larry StewartPower forwardWashington Bullets16Kenny GattisonPower forward Charlotte Hornets18Byron ScottShooting guard Indiana Pacers20Gerald WilkinsSmall forward Cleveland Cavaliers22Benoit BenjaminCenter New Jersey Nets24Doug EdwardsForward Atlanta Hawks26Blue EdwardsShooting guard Utah Jazz
NBA draft
The Grizzlies held both their original selections in their first NBA draft appearance. Their first ever draft pick was Bryant Reeves.
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 6 Bryant Reeves Center Oklahoma State 2 36 Lawrence Moten Guard Syracuse
Roster
Roster Notes Power forward Jeff Turner was acquired by the Grizzlies from the Orlando Magic in a mid-season trade, but was placed on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury he sustained with the Magic, and did not play for the Grizzlies.
First game On November 3, 1995, Vancouver played their first ever game in Portland against the Trail Blazers and beat the Blazers by a score of 92–80. Benoit Benjamin scored a team high 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Regular season Although they won their first two games in franchise history, the Grizzlies finished with the worst win–loss record in the 1995–96 NBA season, as is typical for an expansion team, and lost 23 straight games from February to April (setting an NBA single-season record now held by the Philadelphia 76ers with 27.)
Highs On November 3, 1995, Vancouver plays their first ever game, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 92–80 in Portland. On November 5, 1995, the Grizzlies make their home debut, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 100–98 in overtime in front of 19,113 fans, to begin the season with a 2–0 record. The Grizzlies defeat nearby rivals the Seattle SuperSonics by a single point in a hotly contested game on December 19, 1995. The crowd leaves ecstatic. The Grizzlies hold the Miami Heat to only 65 points in a 69–65 victory on January 13, 1996. Vancouver finishes the season on a positive note, defeating the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers on the road.
Lows After starting the season 2–0, Vancouver would lose their next 19 games to quickly fall into last place in the Midwest Division. Vancouver was held to a season low 62 points in a 111–62 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on November 8, 1995. On December 10, 1995, the Grizzlies play the Toronto Raptors for the first time. The first NBA regular season game contested between two non-U.S. based teams. The game is held at General Motors Place in Vancouver. The Raptors win the game by a score of 93–81. On April 2, 1996, Vancouver loses its 23rd straight game, losing 101–85 to the Portland Trail Blazers. The loss was also the Grizzlies 29th in their last 30 games.
Season standings
Game log