What Happened to the Vancouver Grizzlies?
The Vancouver Grizzlies joined the NBA as an expansion team in the 1995-96 season. After only six seasons the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis at the end of 2000-01 season. Let’s take a look at what happened to the Vancouver Grizzlies and why they failed:
What Happened to the Vancouver Grizzlies?
During the 90’s the NBA was looking to grow outside of America. The NBA decided on expansion into Canada’s two most populated cities in 1995, Toronto and Vancouver.
The Vancouver Grizzlies were founded by owner Arthur Griffiths. He would eventually have to sell the Grizzlies in 1997 to Seattle businessman John McCaw Jr. Many local businesses didn’t support the team as it wasn’t locally owned.
Both the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies struggled transitioning into the NBA but the fortunes of the Raptors took a positive turn but things for the Grizzlies went from bad to worse.
The Vancouver Grizzlies finished with a record of 101-359 during their six seasons in the NBA. It was the worst record in the league during that period.
The Grizzlies ranked 14th in league attendance in their debut season, according to ESPN. The Raptors ranked third in comparison and on the back of Vince Carter’s arrival in 1998, Toronto quickly gained worldwide popularity.
In 1999 McCaw would sell the Vancouver Grizzlies to Bill Laurie. Laurie would have have to drop his bid as the NBA blocked a planned relocation to St. Louis. McCaw would sell the team to Chicago businessman Michael Heisley for $160 million in 2000.
At the end of the 2000-01 season the Vancouver Grizzlies relocated to Memphis. The Grizzlies would finish with the third-worst league attendance in the NBA at the time of their relocation.
Memphis Grizzlies was the new NBA city following relocation from Vancouver. The huge fan support and basketball interest favoured owner Michael Heisley, Memphis the winning bid over other NBA relocation hopefuls Louisville, Las Vegas, New York, San Diego and Anaheim,
Toronto in comparison would finally win an NBA Championship in 2019, becoming the first Canadian team to win the NBA.
Why Did Vancouver Grizzlies Move
Why did the Vancouver Grizzlies fail? How could an NBA team in one of the most beautiful and most popular cities, Vancouver, fail so miserably?
These are five reasons why the Vancouver Grizzlies relocated to Memphis:
- Low attendances
- Bad Contracts
- Draft mistakes
4.NBA Lockout 1998-99 - Lost revenue
Low Attendances
The Vancouver Grizzlies average home attendance at General Motors Place was more than 17,000 during their first season and 14th best in the league. Attendances would drop below 14,000 in the last few seasons, resulting in millions of dollars worth of lost revenue.
Poor performances no doubt had an impact on NBA crowds as the Vancouver Grizzlies never managed a winning season.
Finishing with an overall record of 101-359, the Vancouver Grizzlies best season was a lowly 23-wins in their final season. Their worst finish was in the 50-game shortened 1998-99 season, finishing with only 8-wins and a .160% record.
Bad Contracts
One of the most crucial mistakes was the contract given to sixth pick of the 1995 Draft, Bryant Reeves. Picked ahead of Reeves in the draft was Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett.
Reeves was signed to a $64 million, 6-year contract. Reeves never became an All-Star and averaged less than 10-points a game. Weight problems and a field goal percentage contributed to his and the Vancouver Grizzlies failure.
Chronic back injuries lead to Reeves retiring in 2001 after only six years in the NBA, his retirement coinciding with Vancouver’s relocation to Memphis.
Kevin Garnett on the other hand, became a 15-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer. Rasheed Wallace also became a four-time All-Star and Stackhouse a two-time All-Star.
Draft Mistakes
Despite finishing with the worst record in the NBA three times in their six NBA seasons, the Vancouver Grizzlies never received the first pick of the NBA draft.
Bryant Reeves was selected over Kevin Garnett, Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace in the 1995 NBA draft.
In 1996 they selected Shareef Abdur-Rahim with the third pick however, they passed on the opportunity to select Steve Nash, Ray Allen or Kobe Bryant.
The Vancouver Grizzlies could also have selected Tracy McGrady, Antawn Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Richard Hamilton or Vince Carter. Any one of these players could have become a franchise player for the Vancouver Grizzlies and may have prevented their relocation away to Memphis.
NBA Lockout 1998-99
The 1998-99 NBA lockout had a crippling effect on the Vancouver Grizzlies. The lockout impacted the NBA’s popularity, and the league was dealt a double blow with the second retirement of Michael Jordan.
NBA attendance had dropped 2%, sales of NBA merchandise had plummeted and TV ratings were in freefall. These all contributed to the Vancouver Grizzlies losing an estimated $40 million in their final season.
Vancouver Grizzlies attendances dropped almost 15% in the space of two seasons after the lockout, the impact financially a major reason why Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis.
Lost Revenue
Vancouver struggled to get corporate sponsors. They weren’t in a position to negotiate good deals as no player made the All-Star team while playing for the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Michael Heisley had bought the Vancouver Grizzlies in April 2000 and just over a year later he successfully located the franchise to Memphis.
Under his ownership, Heisley lost a total of $87 million (including a $30 million relocation fee) in the six months the franchise was in Vancouver.
The weak Canadian dollar eventually forced the Vancouver Grizzlies to relocate to Memphis. At the time, the Canadian dollar was worth around 67 US cents.
Revenue was collected in Canadian dollars and salaries paid in US dollars. The unfavourable exchange rate was a huge financial burden that Vancouver couldn’t handle.
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