1995–96 Vancouver Grizzlies season

The 1995–96 Vancouver Grizzlies season was the first season for the Vancouver Grizzlies in the National Basketball Association. The Grizzlies, along with the Toronto Raptors, became expansion NBA franchises in 1995; they were the first NBA teams to play in Canada since the 1946–47 Toronto Huskies. The Grizzlies revealed a new primary logo of a grizzly bear holding a basketball, and got new uniforms with Native American markings on the trims of their jerseys, adding turquoise and brown to their color scheme. The team played their home games at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In the 1995 NBA expansion draft, the team selected veteran players like Greg Anthony, Blue Edwards, Byron Scott, Benoit Benjamin, Gerald Wilkins and Kenny Gattison; the team also signed free agents Chris King and undrafted power rookie forward Ashraf Amaya, and acquired Anthony Avent from the Orlando Magic. The Grizzlies received the sixth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected center Bryant Reeves out of Oklahoma State University, and also hired Brian Winters as their first ever head coach.

The Grizzlies made their NBA regular season debut on November 3, 1995, in which the team defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on the road, 92–80 at the Rose Garden Arena; Benjamin led the Grizzlies with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Two nights later on November 5, the Grizzlies had a successful home debut at General Motors Place by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 100–98. Scott led the team with 18 points off the bench, while King made a tip-in from Scott's missed jumper at the buzzer to win the game.

However, despite winning their first two games, the Grizzlies struggled and posted a dreadful 19-game losing streak between November and December afterwards, leading to an awful 2–19 start to the season. After 13 games, Benjamin was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Eric Murdock, and second-year forward Eric Mobley. The Grizzlies posted a six-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 10–37 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Gattison to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Jeff Turner; however, Turner never played for the Grizzlies due to a season-ending knee injury he sustained with the Magic. The Grizzlies then suffered a dreadful 23-game losing streak between February and April, including a winless month in March, in which the team posted an 0–17 record during that month, but managed to close the season with two straight victories. The Grizzlies finished their inaugural season in last place in the Midwest Division with a league-worst record of 15 wins and 67 losses.

Anthony was the team's scoring leader, averaging 14.0 points, 6.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while Reeves averaged 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Edwards provided the team with 12.7 points and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, Scott played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 10.2 points per game, while Murdock contributed 9.1 points, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 64 games after the trade, and King provided with 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Wilkins averaged 6.7 points per game, but only played just 28 games due to back and Achilles tendon injuries, rookie shooting guard, and second-round draft pick Lawrence Moten contributed 6.6 points per game, Amaya averaged 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and Avent provided with 5.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Reeves was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Western Conference Rookie team. Anthony finished tied in 14th place in Most Improved Player voting. The Grizzlies finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 654,013 at General Motors Place during the regular season. Following the season, Scott re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers, while Wilkins signed with the Orlando Magic, Murdock signed with the Denver Nuggets, Amaya signed with the Washington Bullets, and King, Avent and Turner were all released to free agency.

The team's new primary logo would remain in use until 2001, where the team moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and replaced the word "Vancouver" with "Memphis" on the logo; the original logo would last until 2004, while the new uniforms would last until 2000.