2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies season

2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies season
Head coachSidney Lowe
PresidentDick Versace
General managerBilly Knight
OwnerMichael Heisley
ArenaPyramid Arena
Results
Record23–59 (.280)
PlaceDivision: 7th (Midwest)
Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionFox Sports Net South, WMC, WPXX
RadioWREC

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, top 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 was out due to 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, as the team failed to qualify for the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.[23][24]

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.

Draft picks

Main article: 2001 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 6 Shane Battier SF/SG  United States Duke
1 27 Jamaal Tinsley PG  United States Iowa State
2 32 Will Solomon PG  United States Clemson
2 48 Antonis Fotsis (from New York) SF  Greece Panathinaikos (Greece)

Roster

2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 25 Nick Anderson  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1968–01–20 Illinois
G/F 31 Shane Battier 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978–09–09 Duke
G 32 Rodney Buford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1977–11–02 Creighton
G 8 Michael Dickerson  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1975–06–25 Arizona
F 6 Antonis Fotsis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1981–04–01 Greece
F/C 16 Pau Gasol 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1980–07–06 Spain
G 7 Eddie Gill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1978–08–16 Weber State
G 22 Brevin Knight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 1975–11–08 Stanford
F 43 Grant Long 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–03–12 Eastern Michigan
F 34 Tony Massenburg 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–07–31 Maryland
C 50 Bryant Reeves  (IN) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 290 lb (132 kg) 1973–06–08 Oklahoma State
G 5 Elliot Perry 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 1969–03–28 Memphis
G 1 Will Solomon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1978–07–20 Auburn
F 4 Stromile Swift 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1979–11–21 LSU
G 2 Jason Williams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1975–11–18 Florida
C 42 Lorenzen Wright 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1975–11–04 Memphis
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster

Roster notes

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 58 24 .707 – 32–9 26–15 21–3
x-Dallas Mavericks 57 25 .695 1 30–11 27–14 16–8
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 50 32 .610 8 29–12 21–20 15–9
x-Utah Jazz 44 38 .537 14 25–16 19–22 8–16
e-Houston Rockets 28 54 .341 30 18–23 10–31 9–15
e-Denver Nuggets 27 55 .329 31 20–21 7–34 8–16
e-Memphis Grizzlies 23 59 .280 35 15–26 8–33 7–17
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Sacramento Kings 61 21 .744 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 58 24 .707 3
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 3
4 x-Dallas Mavericks 57 25 .695 4
5 x-Minnesota Timberwolves 50 32 .610 11
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 12
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics 45 37 .549 16
8 x-Utah Jazz 44 38 .537 17
9 e-Los Angeles Clippers 39 43 .476 22
10 e-Phoenix Suns 36 46 .439 25
11 e-Houston Rockets 28 54 .341 33
12 e-Denver Nuggets 27 55 .329 34
13 e-Memphis Grizzlies 23 59 .280 38
14 e-Golden State Warriors 21 61 .256 40

Game log

Game Date Opponent Result Grizzlies score Opponent score Record OT

Player statistics

Regular season

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Pau Gasol PF 82 79 3,007 730 223 41 169 1,441 36.7 8.9 2.7 .5 2.1 17.6
Shane Battier SF 78 78 3,097 418 216 121 81 1,125 39.7 5.4 2.8 1.6 1.0 14.4
Tony Massenburg PF 73 31 1,247 324 26 30 31 403 17.1 4.4 .4 .4 .4 5.5
Stromile Swift PF 68 14 1,805 430 50 53 113 803 26.5 6.3 .7 .8 1.7 11.8
Grant Long PF 66 56 1,868 231 136 63 12 417 28.3 3.5 2.1 1.0 .2 6.3
Jason Williams PG 65 65 2,236 195 519 111 7 959 34.4 3.0 8.0 1.7 .1 14.8
Rodney Buford SG 63 21 1,769 272 71 42 12 591 28.1 4.3 1.1 .7 .2 9.4
Will Solomon SG 62 4 872 68 92 35 7 321 14.1 1.1 1.5 .6 .1 5.2
Brevin Knight PG 53 11 1,151 109 302 79 7 371 21.7 2.1 5.7 1.5 .1 7.0
Lorenzen Wright C 43 33 1,251 405 44 30 23 516 29.1 9.4 1.0 .7 .5 12.0
Antonis Fotsis PF 28 1 320 62 10 9 11 108 11.4 2.2 .4 .3 .4 3.9
Eddie Gill PG 23 5 384 28 49 11 3 116 16.7 1.2 2.1 .5 .1 5.0
Isaac Austin C 21 8 307 71 13 9 5 76 14.6 3.4 .6 .4 .2 3.6
Nick Anderson SG 15 0 219 33 14 6 6 60 14.6 2.2 .9 .4 .4 4.0
Isaac Fontaine SG 6 0 75 5 4 0 0 11 12.5 .8 .7 .0 .0 1.8
Michael Dickerson SG 4 4 124 12 9 3 1 43 31.0 3.0 2.3 .8 .3 10.8
Elliot Perry PG 2 0 48 4 7 3 0 11 24.0 2.0 3.5 1.5 .0 5.5

Awards and records

Awards

Pau Gasol 2001–2002 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Pau Gasol 2001–2002 NBA All-Rookie Team[40]

Shane Battier 2001–2002 NBA All-Rookie Team[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ 2001-02 Memphis Grizzlies
  2. ^ "PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; Grizzlies' Move Receives Approval". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 29, 2001. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  3. ^ "NBA Approves Grizzlies' Move". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. July 4, 2001. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "NBA Owners Approve Grizzlies' Move to Memphis". ESPN. Associated Press. July 19, 2001. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "Wizards Go Young, But Bulls Go Younger". ESPN. Associated Press. June 27, 2001. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Wise, Mike (June 28, 2001). "High School Star Taken No. 1 in N.B.A. Draft". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "2001 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "Around the NBA". Los Angeles Times. June 29, 2001. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  9. ^ "Williams' Rocky Relationship with Kings Comes to an End". ESPN. June 29, 2001. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  10. ^ "Suns Agree to Trade Kidd to Nets for Marbury". Tampa Bay Times. June 29, 2001. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Wise, Mike (October 30, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Jordan Against the New Generation, Lakers Against the World". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  12. ^ "Memphis 103, Seattle 99". United Press International. October 15, 2001. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  13. ^ "Grizzlies' Reeves Disabled by Back". The Oklahoman. October 30, 2001. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Pistons Claim Come-from-Behind "W" Against Grizzlies". The Argus-Press. Associated Press. November 2, 2001. p. 9. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  15. ^ Lisle, Andria (November 3, 2001). "Grizzlies Drop Home Opener, 80-90". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  16. ^ "Detroit Pistons at Memphis Grizzlies Box Score, November 1, 2001". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  17. ^ "Grizzly Guard Sidelined". United Press International. November 15, 2001. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  18. ^ "Dickerson Sidelined by Groin Injury". United Press International. November 10, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  19. ^ "Grizzlies Beat Cavs for Their 1st Win". Kingman Daily Miner. Associated Press. November 18, 2001. p. 7A. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  20. ^ "Cleveland Cavaliers at Memphis Grizzlies Box Score, November 17, 2001". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  21. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 7, 2002". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  22. ^ "NBC Losing Interest". Orlando Sentinel. March 1, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  23. ^ "2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  24. ^ Memphis Grizzlies (2001-Present)
  25. ^ "Gasol Gets 117 Out of a Possible 126 Votes". ESPN. Associated Press. April 24, 2002. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  26. ^ "Pau Gasol Is NBA Rookie of Year". CBC. CBC Sports. April 24, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  27. ^ "NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  28. ^ Przybyszewski, Chris (December 6, 2001). "Timberwolves Rip Grizzlies, 105-80". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  29. ^ "Buford Clarifies Drug Suspension". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 15, 2002. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  30. ^ a b "2001–02 Memphis Grizzlies Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  31. ^ "Rookie Challenge Today". The Daily Gazette. February 9, 2002. p. D3. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  32. ^ "2002 NBA Rising Stars: Rookies 103, Sophomores 97". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  33. ^ "Memphis 114, L.A. Lakers 108". United Press International. December 21, 2001. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  34. ^ Przybyszewski, Chris (December 23, 2001). "Grizzlies Stun Lakers, 114-108". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  35. ^ "Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis Grizzlies Box Score, December 21, 2001". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  36. ^ "2001–02 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  37. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies Logo". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  38. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  39. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  40. ^ a b RealGM, Historical Memphis Grizzlies Awards, Sept 20 2011
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