1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies season explained

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Grizzlies' third season in the National Basketball Association.^[1] After finishing with the worst record in their first two seasons, the Grizzlies selected Antonio Daniels out of Bowling Green State University with the fourth overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} In 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.^{[7] [8] [9]} The team also acquired Otis Thorpe from the Detroit Pistons,^{[10] [11] [12]} acquired three-point specialist Sam Mack from the Houston Rockets, and acquired Tony Massenburg from the Boston Celtics.^{[13] [14]}

The Grizzlies played around .500 early into the 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.^[15] At midseason, Thorpe was traded back to his former team, the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Michael Smith and Bobby Hurley,^{[16] [17] [18] [19]} while Anthony Peeler was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Doug West.^{[20] [19] [21] [22]} The Grizzlies finally escaped last place by finishing sixth in the Midwest Division with a 19–63 record.^[23]

Leading the way in scoring again was second-year star Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who averaged 22.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while Bryant Reeves averaged 16.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, Mack and sixth man Blue Edwards both contributed 10.8 points per game each, and Daniels provided the team with 7.8 points and 4.5 assists per game. In addition, George Lynch provided with 7.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game off the bench, and Lee Mayberry contributed 4.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, after replacing Daniels as the team's starting point guard midway through the season.^[24] Following the season, Daniels was traded to the San Antonio Spurs,^{[25] [26] [27]} while Edwards signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat during the next season,^{[28] [29]} Lynch signed with the Philadelphia 76ers,^{[30] [31]} and Hurley was released to free agency.

For the season, the Grizzlies added new black alternate road uniforms with turquoise side panels, which would become their primary road jerseys for the 2000–01 season.^[32]

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		Bowling Green State University
2	52	C.J. Bruton	G		Indian Hills Junior College

Roster

Roster Notes

• Shooting guard Doug West was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves at midseason, but did not play for the Grizzlies this season due to going into rehab for alcohol treatment, and a hip contusion.^{[33] [34] [22]}

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.

Record vs. opponents

1997-98 NBA Records
width=100	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
	—	2–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	4–0
	1–2	—	1–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
	0–4	2–1	—	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	3–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–1
	0–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	1–2
	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1
	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1
	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	2–0	—	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	0–2	2–2
	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2
	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	0–4	3–1	1–1
	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	4–0
	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–0	1–3	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–1	0–4	3–1	2–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–2
	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
	2–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
	2–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3
	2–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–3	0–4	—	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
	1–3	1–3	1–2	1–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	0–4	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	3–1
	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1
	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–3	—	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1
	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	—	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	1–1
	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–2	—	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
	0–4	0–3	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	0–3
	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	—	4–0	0–2
Vancouver	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	—	1–1
Washington	0–4	2–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–1	—

Game log

	Date	Opponent	Score	Record	Attendance
1	October 31		88–90	0–1	17,021
2	November 1		97–96	1–1	15,460
3	November 4		87–92	1–2	14,285
4	November 5		79–87	1–3	14,523
5	November 7		97–108	1–4	15,302
6	November 9		104–96 (OT)	2–4	14,925
7	November 11		119–113	3–4	15,160
8	November 12		80–98	3–5	19,851
9	November 15		109–94	4–5	17,666
10	November 16		95–121	4–6	17,139
11	November 18		100–87	5–6	9,718
12	November 19		87–107	5–7	17,072
13	November 21		99–96	6–7	15,988
14	November 23		84–104	6–8	19,763
15	November 26		82–101	6–9	15,126
16	November 27		85–106	6–10	14,391
17	November 29		87–106	6–11	17,494
18	November 30		97–95	7–11	16,030
19	December 3		97–101	7–12	15,069
20	December 5		98–107	7–13	15,558
21	December 9		85–107	7–14	19,023
22	December 12		95–88	8–14	14,810
23	December 14		110–105	9–14	14,411
24	December 16		91–118	9–15	16,285
25	December 17		87–98	9–16	13,576
26	December 19		91–96	9–17	19,863
27	December 21		88–86	10–17	15,174
28	December 26		100–118	10–18	17,023
29	December 28		88–89	10–19	16,488
30	December 30		115–124	10–20	15,872
31	January 1		104–115	10–21	15,495
32	January 2		80–94	10–22	13,925
33	January 4		108–120	10–23	15,122
34	January 6		87–100	10–24	15,837
35	January 7		102–110	10–25	4,107
36	January 9		90–98	10–26	15,251
37	January 11		90–96	10–27	15,186
38	January 13		89–107	10–28	10,838
39	January 15		93–97	10–29	16,855
40	January 16		110–112	10–30	16,763
41	January 20		88–77	11–30	15,852
42	January 23		88–80	12–30	12,359
43	January 24		107–96	13–30	16,223
44	January 27		85–103	13–31	19,193
45	January 29		106–112	13–32	15,111
46	January 31		106–116	13–33	17,094
47	February 2		90–104	13–34	11,049
48	February 3		97–110	13–35	16,285
49	February 5		93–108	13–36	21,984
50	February 12		103–112	13–37	15,620
51	February 14		110–108	14–37	16,105
52	February 18		105–114	14–38	16,703
53	February 20		92–115	14–39	9,022
54	February 22		105–113 (OT)	14–40	16,932
55	February 24		101–110	14–41	13,335
56	February 25		101–106	14–42	13,701
57	March 1		76–101	14–43	15,371
58	March 3		103–111	14–44	15,095
59	March 6		96–98	14–45	14,605
60	March 8		113–106	15–45	16,098
61	March 12		93–98	15–46	9,112
62	March 13		101–110	15–47	19,911
63	March 15		110–119	15–48	18,983
64	March 17		92–99	15–49	17,248
65	March 18		91–94	15–50	14,653
66	March 20		92–98	15–51	24,023
67	March 21		88–102	15–52	18,336
68	March 23		106–95	16–52	15,392
69	March 26		102–108	16–53	20,581
70	March 27		89–97 (OT)	16–54	17,630
71	March 29		98–106	16–55	19,023
72	March 31		101–104	16–56	15,120
73	April 3		98–138	16–57	19,193
74	April 5		93–99	16–58	18,068
75	April 7		110–94	17–58	5,124
76	April 8		102–113	17–59	17,505
77	April 11		105–96 (OT)	18–59	16,432
78	April 12		106–129	18–60	16,266
79	April 14		98–110	18–61	17,072
80	April 16		97–110	18–62	17,485
81	April 18		100–112	18–63	16,481
82	April 19		112–108 (OT)	19–63	15,329

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player
	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

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 Database Basketball
• Grizzlies on Basketball Reference

Notes and References

1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/VAN/1998.html 1997-98 Vancouver Grizzlies
2. News: Wise . Mike . After Duncan, Utah Forward Steals Show . The New York Times . June 26, 1997 . July 25, 2021.
3. News: Heisler . Mark . Draft Over, But Not Finished . Los Angeles Times . June 26, 1997 . December 1, 2022.
4. News: Cotton . Anthony . No. 1 Pick Turns Duncan Into Spur of Moment . The Washington Post . June 26, 1997 . September 24, 2022.
5. News: First Round Selections in the 1997 NBA Draft Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C. . Hartford Courant . June 26, 1997 . June 2, 2023.
6. Web site: 1997 NBA Draft . Basketball-Reference . December 1, 2022.
7. News: Povtak . Tim . Hill Leads Hunt for Grizzlies' Job . Orlando Sentinel . June 18, 1997 . December 12, 2022.
8. News: Associated Press . Brian Hill Is Hired to Coach Grizzlies . The New York Times . June 27, 1997 . October 22, 2022.
9. News: Associated Press . Hill Gets Fresh Start With Grizzlies . Los Angeles Times . June 27, 1997 . December 12, 2022.
10. News: Gardner . Kris . Pistons Deal Thorpe to Vancouver . The Houston Roundball Review . August 7, 1997 . December 5, 2022.
11. News: Associated Press . Grizzlies Obtain Pistons' Thorpe . The New York Times . August 8, 1997 . January 1, 2022.
12. News: Thorpe Sent to Grizzlies . Tampa Bay Times . August 8, 1997 . September 17, 2022.
13. News: Grizzlies Acquire Massenburg, Mack . Associated Press . October 28, 1997 . June 27, 2022.
14. News: Gardner . Kris . Two Minor Deals Completed on October 28, 1997 . The Houston Roundball Review . October 28, 1997 . November 18, 2022.
15. News: NBA Games Played on February 5, 1998 . Basketball-Reference . January 2, 2023.
16. News: Wise . Mike . BASKETBALL; Kenny Anderson Is Traded to Celtics in 7-Player Deal . The New York Times . February 19, 1998 . December 5, 2022.
17. News: Associated Press . Celtics Land Anderson in Deal with Raptors . Los Angeles Times . February 19, 1998 . September 17, 2022.
18. News: In Seven-Player Swap, Raptors Trade Anderson to the Celtics . The Washington Post . February 19, 1998 . July 27, 2021.
19. News: Smith . Sam . NBA's Rash of Trades Ends with Another Seikaly Deal . Chicago Tribune . February 20, 1998 . June 22, 2023.
20. News: Heisler . Mark . It's a Big Deal for Clippers: There Are No Slam Dunks in the Flurry of NBA Deals . Los Angeles Times . February 20, 1998 . December 4, 2022.
21. News: Trade Completed . The Washington Post . February 22, 1998 . November 9, 2022.
22. News: Grizzlies' West Returns from Rehab . Associated Press . April 10, 1998 . July 4, 2021.
23. Web site: 1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies Schedule and Results. Basketball-Reference. June 28, 2021.
24. Web site: 1997–98 Vancouver Grizzlies Roster and Stats. Basketball-Reference. June 28, 2021.
25. News: CBS News.com Staff . Clippers Pick Olowokandi No. 1 . CBS News . June 24, 1998 . July 2, 2023.
26. News: Wise . Mike . PRO BASKETBALL; 7 Feet 1 Inch of Potential at No. 1 . The New York Times . June 25, 1998 . November 18, 2022.
27. News: Popper . Steve . PRO BASKETBALL; Lopez of St. John's Ends Up with Grizzlies . The New York Times . June 25, 1998 . October 6, 2022.
28. News: Ex-Jazzman Edwards Signs with Heat . Deseret News . February 15, 1999 . November 18, 2022.
29. News: Winderman . Ira . Valuing Family . Sun Sentinel . February 26, 1999 . October 10, 2022.
30. News: Associated Press . 76ers Add Plenty of New Faces . Pocono Record . January 22, 1999 . December 12, 2022.
31. News: Wise . Mike . PRO BASKETBALL; A Scrum for the Title . The New York Times . February 4, 1999 . June 28, 2022.
32. News: Vancouver Grizzlies Uniform . Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net . July 8, 2021.
33. News: Shapiro . Mark . Grizzlies' West Admits Substance Abuse . Chicago Tribune . February 24, 1998 . September 16, 2023.
34. News: Associated Press . Grizzlies' West Vows to Deal with Drinking . Los Angeles Times . February 25, 1998 . September 16, 2023.