The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (the NBA).  The Memphis Grizzlies play in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference with four other teams: the San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks, the New Orleans Hornets and the Houston Rockets.  Grizzlies tickets will surely be hard to come by during the 2010-2011 NBA schedule.

Memphis Grizzlies 2009-2010 Outlook

The Memphis Grizzlies did not qualify for the post-season for the 4th straight season, but there is cause for optimism for the Grizzlies near-term future.  After 3 consecutive sub-24 win seasons, the Grizzlies just missed out on a .500 record by finishing 40-42 good for 4th place in the Southwest division.  A 3-game losing streak to end the season prevented them from having a winning record for the 1st time since the team won 49 games during the 2005-2006 NBA season.  Zach Randolph led the team with 20.8 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game.  Rudy Gay was 2nd on the team in scoring with a 19.6 points per game average.  Their inside presence with Randolph and Gay allowed guards Mike Conley (12.0 points per game and 5.3 assists per game) and O.J. Mayo (17.5 points per game and 3.0 assists per game) to thrive in open spaces.  With Marc Gasol also pouring in 14.6 points and grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game, the Grizzlies have a formidable starting five.  

The Grizzlies added some much-needed depth this off-season by signing Guard-Forward Tony Allen and Guard Acie Law.  If 2nd year center Hasheem Thabeet continues to develop and grow into a consistent presence on the court, the Grizzlies will have a much more balanced attack night in and night out.  The Grizzlies and their fans have high hopes for the future and hope the team can make a strong push for a winning record and a trip to the post-season during the upcoming NBA season.  Get your Grizzlies NBA tickets at the FedExForum before it's too late.

History

In 1995, the NBA expanded its territory into Canada.  As part of that expansion, 2 Canadian teams were added to the NBA ranks – the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors.  The Grizzlies had very little success in Vancouver.  They never won more than 23 games in a season from 1995 through 2001.  With attendance dwindling each and every season, the original ownership group decided to sell the team to businessman Michael Heisley.  Heisley purchased the franchise in 2001 and intended to keep the team in Vancouver.  However, the lack of support began to cost the franchise too much money and Heisley decided to move the team to Memphis.     The Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001, leaving the Toronto Raptors as the only non-United States based team in the NBA.  

The Memphis Grizzlies acquired Pau Gasol in the 2001 NBA draft in a 1st round trade with the Atlanta Hawks.  That year, Gasol was named the NBA Rookie of the Year.  In 2002, the franchise hired former Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer Jerry West as its General Manager.  With Hubie Brown at the helm, the Memphis Grizzlies recorded its first ever winning season during the 2003-2004 season.  The Memphis Grizzlies won 50 games that year and advanced to the NBA playoffs for the first time in franchise history.  However, the San Antonio Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the 1st round of the Western Conference playoffs.  The Memphis Grizzlies won 45 games in 2004-2005 and 49 games in 2005-2006, but the team could never advance past the 1st round of the playoffs.  In fact, the franchise has lost all 12 playoff games that is has played.  

The Memphis Grizzlies traded star Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers during the course of the 2007-2008 NBA season.  In return, the Memphis Grizzlies received Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and first round draft picks in the 2008 and 2010 NBA drafts.     

The Memphis Grizzlies have not retired any players’ numbers during their short 13-year history.  Pau Gasol was named to the NBA All-Star team during the 2005-2006 NBA season.  

Grizzlies TV/Radio

All Memphis Grizzlies basketball games can be seen on the SportSouth cable channel, which is operated by the Fox Sports South television network.  NBC, ESPN and TNT may also televise Memphis Grizzlies games based on the popularity of the game.  Tune into the Memphis Grizzlies Flagship radio network WRBO 103.5 on your FM dial to catch each Memphis Grizzlies basketball game on the radio.
 

The Memphis Grizzlies play their home games at the FedExForum.  The AT&T Center opened in 2004.  In addition to hosting Memphis Grizzlies NBA home games, the AT&T Center also hosts all of the home college basketball games for the Memphis Tigers.  FedExForum was built at a cost of $250 million and was publicly financed with public bonds which were issued by the Memphis Public Building Authority.  FedExForum is owned by the City of Memphis, while FedEx purchased the naming rights for $92 million.   FedExForum has a seating capacity of 18,119 devoted die-hard Memphis Grizzlies fans.  FedExForum has hosted the Conference USA men’s basketball tournament since 2005.  FedExForum has also hosted the 2007 WWE Unforgiven event and the 2007 PMG Clash of Legends, as well as numerous other memorable and historic concerts and special events during its brief history.  FedExForum is slated to the site of one of 4 regional finals in the 2009 Men’s College Basketball Tournament and one of 4 regional finals in the 2010 Women’s College Basketball Tournament.

Stadium:            FedExForum
                            191 Beale Street
                            Memphis, Tennessee 38103

www.nba.com/grizzlies 
www.fedexforum.com

2007-2008 Grizzlies
2009-2010 Grizzlies