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1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies season

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The 1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies season was the third season for the Vancouver Grizzlies in the National Basketball Association. After finishing with the worst record in their first two seasons, the Grizzlies received the fourth overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, and selected point guard Antonio Daniels out of Bowling Green State University. During the off-season, the team hired Brian Hill as their new head coach; Hill previously coached the Orlando Magic, and led them to the 1995 NBA Finals, where they lost in four straight games to the Houston Rockets. The team also acquired Otis Thorpe from the Detroit Pistons, acquired three-point specialist Sam Mack from the Houston Rockets, and acquired Tony Massenburg from the Boston Celtics.

The Grizzlies played around .500 in winning percentage early into the regular season with a 6–7 start, but then struggled again posting a 13-game losing streak between December and January, and held a 13–36 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, Thorpe was traded back to his former team, the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Michael Smith and Bobby Hurley, while Anthony Peeler was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Doug West. The Grizzlies finally escaped last place by finishing in sixth place in the Midwest Division with a 19–63 record; this was also the first, and only season in which the Grizzlies finished with a better record than their Canadian rival, the Toronto Raptors, who finished with a 16–66 record.

Second-year star Shareef Abdur-Rahim averaged 22.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while Bryant Reeves averaged 16.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and Mack provided the team with 10.8 points per game, and led them with 110 three-point field goals. In addition, Blue Edwards contributed 10.8 points per game, while Daniels provided with 7.8 points and 4.5 assists per game, and George Lynch contributed 7.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Massenburg averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, Smith provided with 6.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in 30 games after the trade, Pete Chilcutt averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and Lee Mayberry contributed 4.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, as he replaced Daniels as the team's starting point guard midway through the regular season.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, Mack participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, while Daniels was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team. The Grizzlies finished 19th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 660,457 at General Motors Place during the regular season. Following the season, Daniels was traded to the San Antonio Spurs after only one season with the Grizzlies, while Edwards signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat during the next season, Lynch signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Hurley was released to free agency.

For the season, the Grizzlies added new black alternate road uniforms with turquoise side panels, which would later on become their primary road jerseys for the 2000–01 season.

Draft picks

The Grizzlies first draft pick was Antonio Daniels, which was the fourth overall pick in the draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	4	Antonio Daniels	PG/SG	United States	Bowling Green State University
2	52	C.J. Bruton	G	United States	Indian Hills Community College

Roster

Brian Hill
Jim Boylan
Lionel Hollins
Jack Nolan

Roster Notes

Shooting guard Doug West was acquired by the Grizzlies from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a mid-season trade, but was placed on the injured reserve list due to going into rehab for alcohol treatment, and a hip contusion, and did not play for the Grizzlies this season.

Regular season

The Grizzlies got off to their best start in team history, as thirteen games into the season, the team had a 6–7 record. On October 31, 1997, Violet Palmer made history in Vancouver when she officiated the NBA season opener between the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks, in British Columbia, Canada. The team would then fall into a slump, which included a thirteen-game losing streak as they fell out of playoff contention. Vancouver would finish the year with a 19–63 record, their best in team history, and finish out of last place for the first time ever.

Highs

Vancouver recorded their first ever three game winning streak, as on January 20, they defeated the Denver Nuggets, followed by sweeping a home and home series against the Golden State Warriors.
On March 23, 1998, Vancouver defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 106–95 to earn their sixteenth win of the season, a team record. Vancouver finished with nineteen wins, four higher than their previous high of fifteen, set in 1995–96.
The Grizzlies finished out of the Midwest Division cellar for the first time in team history, as they had a 19–63 record, eight games better than the Denver Nuggets, who finished the year 11–71.

Lows

On January 15, 1998, the Washington Wizards defeat Vancouver 112–110, sending the Grizzlies to their thirteenth consecutive loss.
From January 27 to April 5, the Grizzlies win only 3 of 31 games.

Season standings

Game log

82	April 19	@ Sacramento Kings	112–108 (OT)	19–63	15,329

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player	POS	GP	GS	MP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	SF	82	82	2,950	581	213	89	76	1,829	36.0	7.1	2.6	1.1	.9	22.3
	SF	82	0	1,493	362	122	65	41	616	18.2	4.4	1.5	.8	.5	7.5
	PF	82	0	1,420	306	104	53	37	405	17.3	3.7	1.3	.6	.5	4.9
	SG	81	20	1,968	217	201	86	27	872	24.3	2.7	2.5	1.1	.3	10.8
	PG	79	32	1,835	114	349	65	10	363	23.2	1.4	4.4	.8	.1	4.6
	C	74	74	2,527	585	155	39	80	1,207	34.1	7.9	2.1	.5	1.1	16.3
	SG	74	50	1,956	143	334	55	10	579	26.4	1.9	4.5	.7	.1	7.8
	C	61	13	894	232	21	25	24	396	14.7	3.8	.3	.4	.4	6.5
	SF	57	54	1,414	133	101	41	11	616	24.8	2.3	1.8	.7	.2	10.8
†	PF	47	46	1,574	371	161	30	23	528	33.5	7.9	3.4	.6	.5	11.2
†	PF	30	29	706	206	59	26	6	182	23.5	6.9	2.0	.9	.2	6.1
	PF	28	2	249	69	9	10	3	58	8.9	2.5	.3	.4	.1	2.1
†	PG	27	0	458	30	97	10	0	122	17.0	1.1	3.6	.4	.0	4.5
†	SG	16	0	143	13	10	7	1	54	8.9	.8	.6	.4	.1	3.4
†	SG	8	8	202	20	23	9	0	79	25.3	2.5	2.9	1.1	.0	9.9
	SF	6	0	41	12	1	4	0	17	6.8	2.0	.2	.7	.0	2.8

† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Grizzlies only.

Transactions

Vancouver acquired forward-center Otis Thorpe in a trade with the Detroit Pistons. The Grizzlies gave up a conditional first round draft pick. Vancouver also acquired Sam Mack from the Houston Rockets to become the team's starting shooting guard. Midway through the season, Thorpe was traded along with Chris Robinson to the Sacramento Kings for Michael Smith and Bobby Hurley.

The Grizzlies hired Brian Hill to become the head coach. Hill had previously been the head coach of the Orlando Magic from 1993 to 1997, leading them to a 191–104 record under his helm. The Magic advanced to the 1995 NBA Finals and had a 60 win season in 1995–96.

References

Grizzlies on Basketball Reference

References

[https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/VAN/1998.html 1997-98 Vancouver Grizzlies]
Wise, Mike. (June 26, 1997). "After Duncan, Utah Forward Steals Show". The New York Times.
Heisler, Mark. (June 26, 1997). "Draft Over, But Not Finished". Los Angeles Times.
"1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.
Povtak, Tim. (June 18, 1997). "Hill Leads Hunt for Grizzlies' Job". Orlando Sentinel.
(June 27, 1997). "Brian Hill Is Hired to Coach Grizzlies". The New York Times.
(June 27, 1997). "Hill Gets Fresh Start With Grizzlies". Los Angeles Times.
Gardner, Kris. (August 7, 1997). "Pistons Deal Thorpe to Vancouver". The Houston Roundball Review.
(August 8, 1997). "Grizzlies Obtain Pistons' Thorpe". The New York Times.
(August 8, 1997). "Thorpe Sent to Grizzlies". Tampa Bay Times.
(October 28, 1997). "Grizzlies Acquire Massenburg, Mack". Associated Press.
Gardner, Kris. (October 28, 1997). "Two Minor Deals Completed on October 28, 1997". The Houston Roundball Review.
"NBA Games Played on February 5, 1998". Basketball-Reference.
Wise, Mike. (February 19, 1998). "BASKETBALL; Kenny Anderson Is Traded to Celtics in 7-Player Deal". The New York Times.
(February 19, 1998). "Celtics Land Anderson in Deal with Raptors". Los Angeles Times.
(February 19, 1998). "In Seven-Player Swap, Raptors Trade Anderson to the Celtics". The Washington Post.
Heisler, Mark. (February 20, 1998). "It's a Big Deal for Clippers: There Are No Slam Dunks in the Flurry of NBA Deals". Los Angeles Times.
Smith, Sam. (February 20, 1998). "NBA's Rash of Trades Ends with Another Seikaly Deal". Chicago Tribune.
(February 22, 1998). "Trade Completed". The Washington Post.
"1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
"1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
(January 21, 1998). "NBA Long-Distance Shootout Roster". Record-Journal.
"NBA & ABA All-Star Game Contest Winners". Basketball-Reference.
(February 6, 1998). "1998 NBA Rookie Game Roster". Times-Union.
"1998 NBA Rising Stars: East 85, West 80". Basketball-Reference.
"1997–98 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
(June 24, 1998). "Clippers Pick Olowokandi No. 1". CBS News.
Wise, Mike. (June 25, 1998). "PRO BASKETBALL; 7 Feet 1 Inch of Potential at No. 1". The New York Times.
Popper, Steve. (June 25, 1998). "PRO BASKETBALL; Lopez of St. John's Ends Up with Grizzlies". The New York Times.
(February 15, 1999). "Ex-Jazzman Edwards Signs with Heat". Deseret News.
Winderman, Ira. (February 26, 1999). "Valuing Family". Sun Sentinel.
(January 22, 1999). "76ers Add Plenty of New Faces". Pocono Record.
Wise, Mike. (February 4, 1999). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title". The New York Times.
"Vancouver Grizzlies Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net.
Shapiro, Mark. (February 24, 1998). "Grizzlies' West Admits Substance Abuse". Chicago Tribune.
(February 25, 1998). "Grizzlies' West Vows to Deal with Drinking". Los Angeles Times.
(April 10, 1998). "Grizzlies' West Returns from Rehab". Associated Press.

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