Memphis Grizzlies: 10 Most Memorable Moments in Franchise History

The Memphis Grizzlies franchise has been around since 1995 and has seen many memorable moments.

While not all of them have been positive ones, the franchise has grown up a lot since its meager beginnings to having its most successful season in 2010-11.

Here are the 10 most memorable moments in the history of the Grizzlies franchise from old to new.

Drafting Bryant "Big Country" Reeves

Don't forget that the Memphis Grizzlies were once the great Vancouver Grizzlies, whose overall record was 101-359.

One of the finest moves that Vancouver made was the sixth overall selection in the 1995 NBA Draft, Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. Reeves earned his cowboy nickname after his college teammates at Oklahoma State laughed at how big he thought the country was during his first airplane ride.

Reeves wasn't that bad of a player, though. He made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and averaged 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his career. Those numbers, however, were pulled down significantly during the end of his career due to weight problems and chronic back pains.

Big Country retired midway through the 2001-02 season.

Move from Vancouver to Memphis

Certainly one of the major moments in the Grizzlies' franchise was the move from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001.

While many critics are fast to write off Tennessee professional sports as nothing more than token small-market teams, they fail to notice how basketball hungry and savvy Memphis is.

The local college basketball program, the Memphis Tigers, educated the fanbase on the ins and outs of the game and built a hard-nosed attitude toward the game.

The Grizzlies have since pulled even with the Tigers and their players truly reflect the spirit of the great city on the Mississippi River.

2001 NBA Draft

The 2001 NBA Draft was an historic one for the Memphis Grizzlies franchise. The team acquired Shane Battier and Pau Gasol in a matter of minutes.

Gasol was dealt by the Atlanta Hawks for Shareef Abdur-Rahim—win goes to Memphis. Gasol remains one of the best plays in franchise history. Then, the Grizzlies took Battier sixth overall. 

Gasol won the 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and became Memphis' first star in the league. Battier used his intelligence, grit and skill to endear himself to the home crowd.

Both players made the 2002 NBA All-Rookie First Team.

First Winning Season

Using a combination of talent, brains and coaching, the 2003-04 Memphis Grizzlies earned the first winning season in franchise history.

They improved 22 games to a 50-32 record, which still stands as the best regular season by any Grizzly team. The motley crew of Jason Williams, Mike Miller, Shane Battier and Paul Gasol were tough to beat.

Coach Hubie Brown won the 2004 NBA Coach of the Year while Jerry West won the 2004 NBA Executive of the Year. Both of these awards were the first and remain the only in the history of the franchise.

First Playoff Appearance

The success of the aforementioned 2003-04 NBA season obviously led to the first-ever playoff trip for the Memphis Grizzlies' franchise.

They earned the sixth seed in the West and played the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The magic of the regular season had clearly worn off, though, and the Grizzlies made a quick playoff exit.

This started an unfortunate streak of three consecutive first-round sweeps in the postseason to three different teams.

Allen Iverson's Tenure

After the the three consecutive first-round sweeps the Memphis Grizzlies experienced from 2004 to 2006, the team dove back into the below-average realm that it had always been in.

There was hardly any interest in the team and the three straight years of less than 25 wins reflected that. There needed to be a shot of adreline stuck into the team and the city, and that's what came before the 2009-10 season.

Allen Iverson signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract. There was a good deal of excitement as it seemed the Grizzlies were serious about getting back to the postseason.

While Iverson only played in three games that season before being waived, the team did earn a 40-42 record, improving significantly on its past struggles.

Shane Battier Returns

Shane Battier earned a loyal following during his time as a Memphis Grizzly from 2001 to 2006.

The fanbase was really sad to see him go when he was traded to the Houston Rockets for their eighth overall pick, Rudy Gay. Obviously, this move ended up being the right call for Memphis.

Gay became the face of the franchise and Battier continued his consistently tough play in Houston, most notably while guarding Kobe Bryant.

But as poetic justice would have it, when Gay went down with a season-ending injury in mid-February, it was Battier who returned via a trade to fill the void at small forward. As a bonus, the Grizzlies dumped the worthless Hasheem Thabeet in the trade.

He didn't disappoint, providing veteran leadership, timely baskets and tenacious defense during the end of Memphis' excellent 2010-11 season.

First Playoff Victory

After years of unrest from 12 straight playoff losses, the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies finally had another chance to capture their first playoff win in franchise history on April 17.

In another stroke of irony, the Grizzlies would face the opponent that ousted them in their very first playoff appearance, the San Antonio Spurs.

The Grizzlies' youth and energy were too much for the Spurs that night, as Memphis finally broke through and won the game 101-98 behind a double-double from budding superstar Zach Randolph.

First Playoff Series Win

I distinctly remember watching a San Antonio Spurs feed of Game 2 of the playoff series and was disgusted to hear one of the announcers talking about how they weren't worried about losing the series, just how much effort it would take.

He's been seeing a dentist about removing the boot from his mouth.

The Memphis Grizzlies overpowered, outworked and out-hearted the Spurs in six hard-fought games, delivering Memphis its first-ever postseason series win.

Mike Conley "Drops a Bomb" on the Oklahoma City Thunder

Though the Memphis Grizzlies' playoff run ended when they matched up with the Oklahoma City Thunder in Round 2, they took the series to seven games, earning the respect from NBA analysts and fans across the country.

In the second of two overtime games, Mike Conley extended the game beyond regulation with an awesome three pointer after a Marc Gasol block.

The Grizzlies would eventually lose in three epic overtimes, but the fact remains: That's one groovy song.

Seriously.

Watch the video and see how fast the audio guy for the Grizzlies gets The Gap Band's "You Dropped a Bomb On Me" up. I love the way that funk song sounds against the roar of the crowd...