{"id":29856,"date":"2020-04-02T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=29856"},"modified":"2020-04-01T11:02:03","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T15:02:03","slug":"the-vancouver-grizzlies-and-their-top-five-players-in-franchise-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/04\/02\/the-vancouver-grizzlies-and-their-top-five-players-in-franchise-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vancouver Grizzlies and their Top Five Players in Franchise History"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Vancouver Grizzlies, Canada\u2019s other NBA team, only lasted six seasons. After the conclusion of the 2000-01 season, they relocated to Memphis where they are now known as the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a>. However, there were some notable players that have played with the Vancouver Grizzlies. These players included Bryant Reeves<\/a><\/strong>, Shareef Abdur-Rahim<\/a><\/strong> and Mike Bibby<\/a><\/strong>. To learn more about the five best players with now Canada\u2019s only NBA team, the Toronto Raptors<\/a>, read this previous article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind these top five players are not ranked by how good they were in their NBA careers. It is more to do with how great these players were when wearing the Vancouver Grizzlies jersey and their contribution to the city of Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Vancouver Grizzlies Top Five All-Time Players<\/strong><\/h2>\n

5. Greg Anthony<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There were a few other players that were under consideration. Other players who had similar stats, which included Sam Mack<\/a><\/strong>. However, Greg Anthony<\/strong><\/a> was able to bring Vancouver its first and only Naismith trophy against the Toronto Raptors in 1996.<\/p>\n

The Naismith Trophy was awarded to the annual pre-season match-winner between the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies from 1995-00. Both teams faced each other five times for the Naismith trophy, with Vancouver winning only once in 1996.<\/p>\n

The best season in Anthony’s career happened in the 1995-96 NBA season with the Vancouver Grizzlies. He averaged 14 points, 6.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. The following 1996-97 NBA season, he averaged 9.5 points, 6.3 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game.<\/p>\n

He played a pivotal role in exposing the game of basketball in Vancouver. Anthony was the first pick<\/a> by the Vancouver Grizzlies and second pick overall in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft. He was also one of the few NBA players to play for the three Pacific Northwest teams (Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, Seattle SuperSonics, and the Vancouver Grizzlies). However, his contribution to the team does not compare with the top four players on this list.<\/p>\n

4. Michael Dickerson<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Michael Dickerson<\/strong><\/a> may have only been with the Vancouver Grizzlies in the latter part of the team’s existence, but he was also one of their best players. He had some good years with Vancouver. In the 1999-00 season, he averaged 18.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. In his second year with Vancouver, he averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game during the 2000-01 NBA season.<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Grizzlies acquired Dickerson via trade with the Houston Rockets. A big reason for this was Steve Francis<\/a><\/strong> refusing to play for the Grizzlies in 1999 according to “The NBA” of Kitsap Sun<\/a>. He would play one more season when they became the Memphis Grizzlies before retiring because of injuries.<\/p>\n

3. Bryant Reeves – “Big Country”
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bryant Reeves was drafted sixth overall in Vancouver’s first-ever NBA draft in 1995. He had a good rookie season. He averaged 13.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in the 1995-96 NBA season. Then in the 1996-97 season, he averaged 16.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. He would follow that up in 1997-98 season, where he averaged 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. However, his stats went down after his third NBA season.<\/p>\n

He was affectionately known as “Big Country” in his seasons as a member of the Vancouver Grizzlies. He is the only player on this list to play all six seasons in Vancouver. One of his most notable games<\/a> was scoring 31 points and 12 rebounds against the Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a>) on March 13th<\/sup>, 2000. Vancouver would end up losing that game 113-103 to the SuperSonics, with the Sonics’ Gary Payton<\/a><\/strong> scoring 40 points and 11 assists in that game.<\/p>\n