2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies season

The 2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies season was the seventh season for the Memphis Grizzlies in the National Basketball Association, and their first season in Memphis, Tennessee.^[1] After six seasons of struggling in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Grizzlies moved to the United States of America, relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, and became the "Memphis Grizzlies";^[2][3][4] although it was the first NBA team for the city, Memphis played home to an American Basketball Association team known as the Memphis Sounds from 1970 to 1975. The team also moved into a new arena known as the Pyramid Arena.

The Grizzlies received the sixth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and selected small forward Shane Battier from Duke University, and acquired rookie power forward, first-round draft pick and Spanish basketball star Pau Gasol, Brevin Knight, and former University of Memphis star Lorenzen Wright from the Atlanta Hawks; Gasol was drafted by the Hawks as the third overall pick.^[5][6][7] During the off-season, the team acquired Jason Williams and Nick Anderson from the Sacramento Kings,^[8][9][10] and signed free agent Rodney Buford.^[11] Prior to the regular season, Bryant Reeves suffered a preseason back injury and would miss the entire season.^[12][13]

The Grizzlies made their NBA regular season debut at the Pyramid Arena on November 1, 2001, in which the team lost to the Detroit Pistons by a score of 90–80.^[14][15][16] Despite the addition of Gasol, Battier, Williams and Wright, the team lost their first eight games of the season, as Michael Dickerson suffered a groin injury after only just four games, and was out for the remainder of the season.^[17][18] On November 17, the Grizzlies won their first game by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 98–93 at the Pyramid Arena for the franchise's first win in Memphis.^[19][20] After a three-game winning streak, the team posted a seven-game losing streak in January, and later on held a 14–35 record at the All-Star break.^[21] The Grizzlies posted an eight-game losing streak between February and March, while losing 10 of their 12 games in February, and then later on posted a six-game losing streak in March. At mid-season, the team released Isaac Austin to free agency after 21 games.^[22] The Grizzlies finished in last place in the Midwest Division with a 23–59 record, which was the same record as their previous season in Vancouver;^[23][24] the team missed the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.^[1]

Gasol averaged 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year,^[25][26][27] while Battier averaged 14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and contributed 103 three-point field goals; Gasol and Battier were both named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, Williams contributed 14.8 points, 8.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and led the Grizzlies with 127 three-point field goals, but only shot .295 in three-point field-goal percentage, while Wright provided the team with 12.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, but only played just 43 games due to a knee injury,^[28][29] and second-year forward Stromile Swift provided with 11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game off the bench. Meanwhile, Dickerson contributed 10.8 points per game during his short four-game stint, Buford averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, Knight contributed 7.0 points, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game, Grant Long averaged 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and Tony Massenburg provided with 5.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.^[30]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gasol and Battier were both selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as members of the Rookies team; Swift was also selected for the Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team, but did not participate due to injury.^[31][32] One notable highlight of the inaugural season occurred on December 21, 2001, in which the Grizzlies defeated the 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers at home, 114–108 at the Pyramid Arena; Williams led the Grizzlies with 26 points, while Knight scored 20 points and made 9 out of 10 field-goal attempts off the bench, and Battier contributed 19 points.^[33][34][35]

The Grizzlies finished 25th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 591,030 at the Pyramid Arena during the regular season, which was the fifth-lowest in the league.^[30][36] Following the season, Reeves retired after six seasons in the NBA, all of which he spent playing for the Grizzlies while the team was located in Vancouver, and Buford, Anderson, Long and Massenburg were all released to free agency.

For the season, the Grizzlies slightly changed their primary logo, replacing the city name "Vancouver" with "Memphis" above the team name "Grizzlies", and above their original logo of a grizzly bear holding a basketball;^[37] the team also slightly changed their uniforms, replacing "Vancouver" with "Memphis" on the front of their home and road jerseys.^[38][39] The primary logo and uniforms would both remain in use until 2004, although the uniforms were slightly changed next season, where they replaced the team's alternate logo with their primary logo on their shorts.