1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies season
The 1997–98 NBA season was the Grizzlies' third season in the National Basketball Association.[1] The Grizzlies were coming off of an NBA worst record of 14–68 in the 1996–97 season. This year, they finished the season with a 19-63 record, sixth in the Midwest Division. Shareef Abdur-Rahim led them in scoring averaging 22.3 points per game.
Draft picks
The Grizzlies first draft pick was Antonio Daniels, which was the fourth overall pick in the draft.
Roster
Vancouver Grizzlies roster |
Players | Coaches |
Pos. | No. | Name | Height | Weight | DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) | From |
3.0 !SF |
3 |
USA ! |
Abdur-Rahim, Shareef |
7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
225 lb (102 kg) |
|
California |
4.5 !PF |
23 |
USA ! |
Chilcutt, Pete |
7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
230 lb (104 kg) |
|
North Carolina |
1.0 !PG |
33 |
USA ! |
Daniels, Antonio |
7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
205 lb (93 kg) |
|
Bowling Green |
2.0 !SG |
30 |
USA ! |
Edwards, Blue |
7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
200 lb (91 kg) |
|
East Carolina |
1.0 !PG |
12 |
USA ! |
Hurley, Bobby |
7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
165 lb (75 kg) |
|
Duke |
3.0 !SF |
9 |
USA ! |
Lynch, George |
7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
218 lb (99 kg) |
|
North Carolina |
2.0 !SG |
7 |
USA ! |
Mack, Sam |
7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
220 lb (100 kg) |
|
Houston |
6.0 !C |
44 |
USA ! |
Massenburg, Tony |
7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
220 lb (100 kg) |
|
Maryland |
1.0 !PG |
11 |
USA ! |
Mayberry, Lee |
7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
172 lb (78 kg) |
|
Arkansas |
4.5 !PF |
40 |
USA ! |
Newbill, Ivano |
7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
245 lb (111 kg) |
|
Georgia Tech |
6.0 !C |
50 |
USA ! |
Reeves, Bryant |
7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
290 lb (132 kg) |
|
Oklahoma State |
2.0 !SG |
6 |
USA ! |
Robinson, Larry |
7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
190 lb (86 kg) |
|
Centenary College of Louisiana |
4.5 !PF |
34 |
USA ! |
Smith, Michael |
7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
230 lb (104 kg) |
|
Providence |
2.0 !SG |
2 |
USA ! |
West, Doug |
7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
200 lb (91 kg) |
|
Villanova |
|
- Head coach
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (DP) Unsigned draft pick
- (FA) Free agent
- (S) Suspended
- Injured
Roster |
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.[2] 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
Player statistics
Season
Player |
GP |
GS |
MPG |
FG% |
3FG% |
FT% |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
BPG |
PPG |
Abdur-Rahim, Shareef !Shareef Abdur-Rahim |
82 | 82 | 36.0 | .485 | .412 | .784 | 7.1 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 22.3 |
Chilcutt, Pete !Pete Chilcutt |
82 | 0 | 17.3 | .435 | .415 | .661 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 4.9 |
Daniels, Antonio !Antonio Daniels |
74 | 50 | 26.4 | .416 | .212 | .659 | 1.9 | 4.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 7.8 |
Edwards, Blue !Blue Edwards |
81 | 20 | 24.3 | .439 | .333 | .837 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 10.8 |
Hurley, Bobby !Bobby Hurley |
27 | 0 | 17.0 | .374 | .143 | .744 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 4.5 |
Lynch, George !George Lynch |
82 | 0 | 18.2 | .481 | .300 | .703 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 7.5 |
Mack, Sam !Sam Mack |
57 | 54 | 24.8 | .397 | .409 | .805 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 10.8 |
Massenburg, Tony !Tony Massenburg |
61 | 13 | 14.7 | .479 | .000 | .730 | 3.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 6.5 |
Mayberry, Lee !Lee Mayberry |
79 | 32 | 23.2 | .375 | .350 | .745 | 1.4 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 4.6 |
Newbill, Ivano (basketball) !Ivano Newbill |
28 | 2 | 8.9 | .351 | 1.000 | .567 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
Peeler, Anthony !Anthony Peeler |
8 | 8 | 25.3 | .486 | .263 | .667 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 9.9 |
Reeves, Bryant !Bryant Reeves |
74 | 74 | 34.1 | .523 | .000 | .706 | 7.9 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 16.3 |
Robinson, Chris !Chris Robinson |
16 | 0 | 8.9 | .351 | .292 | .500 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.4 |
Robinson, Larry !Larry Robinson |
6 | 0 | 6.8 | .316 | .500 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
Smith, Michael !Michael Smith |
30 | 29 | 23.5 | .504 | .000 | .658 | 6.9 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 6.1 |
Thorpe, Otis !Otis Thorpe |
47 | 46 | 33.5 | .477 | .000 | .694 | 7.9 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 11.2 |
.
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.
The Grizzlies hired Brian Hill to become the head coach. Hill had previously been the head coach of the Orlando Magic from 1993–1997, 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
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