1996–97 Vancouver Grizzlies season

1996–97 Vancouver Grizzlies season
Head coach	Brian Winters (8–35) Stu Jackson (6–33)
General manager	Stu Jackson
Owners	Arthur Griffiths
Arena	General Motors Place
Results
Record	14–68 (.171)
Place	Division: 7th (Midwest) Conference: 15th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	CHAN
Radio	CKST

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Grizzlies' second season in the National Basketball Association. Coming off of an NBA worst record of 15–67 in their first season, the Grizzlies acquired Anthony Peeler and George Lynch from the Los Angeles Lakers, and signed free agent Lee Mayberry during the offseason. However, they continued to struggle in their second season losing their first seven games as head coach Brian Winters was fired after an 8–35 start, and was replaced with General Manager Stu Jackson. The Grizzlies then suffered a 15-game losing streak between February and March, finishing last place in the Midwest Division with a league worst record of 14–68, their worst record in franchise history. Top draft pick Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Grizzlies with 18.7 points per game and made the All-Rookie First Team. Second-year star Bryant Reeves showed improvement averaging 16.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Following the season, Greg Anthony signed as a free agent with the Seattle SuperSonics, and Jackson was fired as coach.

Draft picks

The Grizzlies first draft pick was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, which was the third overall pick in the draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	3	Shareef Abdur-Rahim	Forward	United States	University of California
1	23	Roy Rogers	Forward	United States	University of Alabama
2	51	Chris Robinson	Guard	United States	Western Kentucky University

Roster

Vancouver Grizzlies roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SF 3 Abdur-Rahim, Shareef 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) California PG 2 Anthony, Greg 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) UNLV PF 33 Chilcutt, Pete 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina SG 30 Edwards, Blue 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) East Carolina PF 32 Edwards, Doug  (IN) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Florida State C 55 Leckner, Eric 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Wyoming SF 34 Lynch, George  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) North Carolina PG 11 Mayberry, Lee 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Arkansas C 52 Mobley, Eric  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Pittsburgh SG 21 Moten, Lawrence 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Syracuse SG 7 Peeler, Anthony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Missouri C 50 Reeves, Bryant 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Oklahoma State SG 5 Robinson, Chris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Western Kentucky PF 44 Rogers, Roy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Alabama PF 15 Williams, Aaron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier

Head coach Stu Jackson Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Roster Notes

• Forward Doug Edwards missed the entire season with compartment syndrome.

Regular season

The Grizzlies would open the season with a seven-game losing streak before earning their first win, as they defeated the Phoenix Suns 92–89 in their eighth game. Wins would be few and far between for Vancouver, as they finished the season with a 14–68 record, which was one game worse than their expansion season. The Grizzlies also once again finished in last place in the league.

Highs

• The Grizzlies swept a season series for the first time in team history, as they won both of their games against the Boston Celtics. The win against the Celtics was also the only time the Grizzlies won consecutive games during the season, as they defeated the San Antonio Spurs the previous game.
• Vancouver scored a season high 121 points in their final game of the season, as they defeated the Phoenix Suns 121–107.

Lows

• The Grizzlies lose their first seven games of the season, including a double OT loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in their seventh game.
• Vancouver gives up a season high 127 points in a 127–80 loss to the Indiana Pacers on December 4, 1996.
• After a 95–76 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 23, 1997, Vancouver fires head coach Brian Winters and general manager Stu Jackson takes over for the remainder of the season.
• On March 19, 1997, the Grizzlies lose their season high fifteenth straight game, as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeat Vancouver 95–72.

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–	38–3	26–15	19–5
x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7	30–11	27–14	19–5
x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24	25–16	15–26	16–8
Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40	14–27	10–31	9–15
Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43	12–29	9–32	7–17
San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44	12–29	8–33	8–16
Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50	8–33	6–35	6–18

1996–97 NBA West standings

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	7
3	x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	8
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	15
6	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24
7	x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	24
8	x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	28
9	Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	30
10	Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	34
11	Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40
12	Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43
13	San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50

Record vs. opponents

1996-97 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–1
Boston	1–3	—	0–4	0–4	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–4
Charlotte	3–1	4–0	—	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–2	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
Chicago	3–1	4–0	4–0	—	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1
Cleveland	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–3	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Dallas	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–4	3–1	1–1
Detroit	3–1	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–0	4–0	1–2	2–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	0–2	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	1–3	4–0	0–4	2–0	0–4	3–1	0–2
Houston	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0
Indiana	1–3	2–1	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	—	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–3	4–0	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	2–0
Miami	2–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Milwaukee	0–4	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	—	0–2	2–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–4	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
New York	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
Orlando	1–3	4–0	2–1	0–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–3
Philadelphia	0–4	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–3	0–2	1–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–3	2–2	—	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	1–3
Phoenix	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	1–3	4–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	—	2–2	4–0	1–3	0–2	2–2	4–0	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	2–0	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–1	0–4	4–0	0–2
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	—	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
Seattle	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	—	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Toronto	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	3–0	0–3	0–4	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	1–1	2–2
Utah	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	—	4–0	2–0
Vancouver	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	1–2	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	0–4	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	—

Game log

#	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Streak
1	November 1	Portland Trail Blazers	85–114	0–1	Lost 1
2	November 3	Golden State Warriors	95–105	0–2	Lost 2
3	November 5	@ Chicago Bulls	73–96	0–3	Lost 3
4	November 6	@ Milwaukee Bucks	89–105	0–4	Lost 4
5	November 8	@ Cleveland Cavaliers	72–88	0–5	Lost 5
6	November 10	New York Knicks	82–101	0–6	Lost 6
7	November 12	Los Angeles Clippers	92–99 (2OT)	0–7	Lost 7
8	November 14	Phoenix Suns	92–89	1–7	Won 1
9	November 15	@ Utah Jazz	96–104	1–8	Lost 1
10	November 17	@ Seattle SuperSonics	81–91	1–9	Lost 2
11	November 18	Sacramento Kings	83–84	1–10	Lost 3
12	November 20	Miami Heat	75–94	1–11	Lost 4
13	November 24	San Antonio Spurs	96–91	2–11	Won 1
14	November 26	@ Atlanta Hawks	80–101	2–12	Lost 1
15	November 27	@ Detroit Pistons	78–87	2–13	Lost 2
16	November 29	@ Indiana Pacers	94–104	2–14	Lost 3
17	November 30	@ Philadelphia 76ers	90–96	2–15	Lost 4
18	December 3	Indiana Pacers	80–127	2–16	Lost 5
19	December 6	@ San Antonio Spurs	105–89	3–16	Won 1
20	December 7	@ Dallas Mavericks	85–96	3–17	Lost 1
21	December 9	Charlotte Hornets	91–107	3–18	Lost 2
22	December 12	@ Portland Trail Blazers	78–99	3–19	Lost 3
23	December 13	Orlando Magic	95–93	4–19	Won 1
24	December 15	@ Phoenix Suns	84–103	4–20	Lost 1
25	December 17	Houston Rockets	93–92	5–20	Won 1
26	December 19	Dallas Mavericks	98–105	5–21	Lost 1
27	December 20	@ Denver Nuggets	93–108	5–22	Lost 2
28	December 22	Washington Bullets	91–87	6–22	Won 1
29	December 26	@ Sacramento Kings	88–111	6–23	Lost 1
30	December 28	Phoenix Suns	98–103	6–24	Lost 2
31	December 30	San Antonio Spurs	88–95	6–25	Lost 3
32	January 3	Seattle SuperSonics	94–108	6–26	Lost 4
33	January 5	Los Angeles Lakers	82–95	6–27	Lost 5
34	January 8	@ Golden State Warriors	109–95	7–27	Won 1
35	January 9	Golden State Warriors	86–104	7–28	Lost 1
36	January 11	Sacramento Kings	101–109	7–29	Lost 2
37	January 14	@ Los Angeles Lakers	81–91	7–30	Lost 3
38	January 15	Detroit Pistons	79–103	7–31	Lost 4
39	January 17	Utah Jazz	68–106	7–32	Lost 5
40	January 19	Toronto Raptors	100–92	8–32	Won 1
41	January 20	@ Seattle SuperSonics	96–112	8–33	Lost 1
42	January 22	@ Denver Nuggets	84–94	8–34	Lost 2
43	January 23	Minnesota Timberwolves	76–95	8–35	Lost 3
44	January 25	Denver Nuggets	82–83	8–36	Lost 4
45	January 27	@ Golden State Warriors	97–122	8–37	Lost 5
46	January 28	Chicago Bulls	96–111	8–38	Lost 6
47	January 30	@ Los Angeles Clippers	94–100	8–39	Lost 7
48	January 31	Atlanta Hawks	76–87	8–40	Lost 8
49	February 2	@ Boston Celtics	102–92	9–40	Won 1
50	February 4	@ New Jersey Nets	105–111	9–41	Lost 1
51	February 6	@ Minnesota Timberwolves	86–103	9–42	Lost 2
52	February 11	@ Houston Rockets	97–106	9–43	Lost 3
53	February 12	@ San Antonio Spurs	106–101	10–43	Won 1
54	February 14	Boston Celtics	109–106	11–43	Won 2
55	February 17	Dallas Mavericks	95–100	11–44	Lost 1
56	February 19	Minnesota Timberwolves	73–84	11–45	Lost 2
57	February 21	@ Los Angeles Lakers	91–99	11–46	Lost 3
58	February 23	Cleveland Cavaliers	84–91	11–47	Lost 4
59	February 26	Los Angeles Clippers	80–83	11–48	Lost 5
60	February 28	Philadelphia 76ers	100–104	11–49	Lost 6
61	March 2	Utah Jazz	86–93	11–50	Lost 7
62	March 6	New Jersey Nets	96–102	11–51	Lost 8
63	March 9	@ Toronto Raptors	77–81	11–52	Lost 9
64	March 11	@ Charlotte Hornets	92–98	11–53	Lost 10
65	March 12	@ Washington Bullets	82–104	11–54	Lost 11
66	March 14	@ Miami Heat	82–88	11–55	Lost 12
67	March 16	@ Orlando Magic	89–100	11–56	Lost 13
68	March 18	@ New York Knicks	73–98	11–57	Lost 14
69	March 19	@ Minnesota Timberwolves	72–95	11–58	Lost 15
70	March 21	Denver Nuggets	108–101	12–58	Won 1
71	March 23	Seattle SuperSonics	92–106	12–59	Lost 1
72	March 25	@ Los Angeles Clippers	104–110 (OT)	12–60	Lost 2
73	March 27	Los Angeles Lakers	98–102 (OT)	12–61	Lost 3
74	March 28	@ Portland Trail Blazers	81–115	12–62	Lost 4
75	April 1	Milwaukee Bucks	91–102	12–63	Lost 5
76	April 4	@ Utah Jazz	79–106	12–64	Lost 6
77	April 6	Houston Rockets	85–94	12–65	Lost 7
78	April 8	@ Sacramento Kings	93–109	12–66	Lost 8
79	April 10	@ Houston Rockets	94–102	12–67	Lost 9
80	April 12	@ Dallas Mavericks	96–85	13–67	Won 1
81	April 17	Portland Trail Blazers	73–105	13–68	Lost 1
82	April 19	@ Phoenix Suns	121–107	14–68	Won 1

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Shareef Abdur-Rahim	80	71	35.0	.453	.259	.746	6.9	2.2	1.0	1.0	18.7
Greg Anthony	65	44	28.7	.393	.370	.730	2.8	6.3	2.0	0.1	9.5
Pete Chilcutt	54	1	12.3	.436	.362	.591	2.9	0.9	0.5	0.3	3.4
Blue Edwards	61	12	23.6	.397	.281	.817	3.1	1.9	0.6	0.3	7.8
Eric Leckner	19	1	6.1	.467	.000	.500	1.8	0.2	0.2	0.1	1.8
George Lynch	41	27	25.8	.471	.258	.619	6.4	1.9	1.5	0.4	8.3
Rich Manning	16	1	8.0	.375	.667	.750	1.4	0.1	0.2	0.1	2.8
Lee Mayberry	80	38	24.4	.403	.376	.630	1.7	4.1	0.8	0.1	5.1
Eric Mobley	28	8	11.0	.444	.000	.533	2.1	0.5	0.2	0.4	2.6
Lawrence Moten	67	18	18.1	.388	.291	.646	1.8	1.9	0.7	0.4	6.7
Moochie Norris	8	0	11.1	.182	.200	.400	1.5	2.9	0.5	0.0	1.5
Anthony Peeler	72	57	31.8	.398	.373	.820	3.4	3.6	1.5	0.2	14.5
Bryant Reeves	75	75	37.0	.486	.091	.704	8.1	2.1	0.4	0.9	16.2
Chris Robinson	41	6	16.6	.379	.382	.615	1.7	1.6	0.7	0.2	4.6
Roy Rogers	82	50	22.5	.505	1.000	.574	4.7	0.6	0.3	2.0	6.6
Aaron Williams	32	1	17.3	.573	.000	.673	4.3	0.5	0.5	0.8	6.2

.

Awards and records

• Shareef Abdur-Rahim, First Team, NBA All-Rookie Team

Transactions

Vancouver would make a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, as the Grizzlies would acquire Anthony Peeler and George Lynch along with the Lakers second round draft choices in 1997 and 1998 for Vancouver's second round draft choices in 1997 and 1998. Peeler would start 57 games for the Grizzlies in the 1996–97 season and finish third in team scoring averaging 14.5 points per game.

References

• Grizzlies on Database Basketball
• Grizzlies on Basketball Reference