Memphis is a basketball town. Larry Finch and John Calipari established Memphis University as a mid-major team playing on a powerhouse level, and the city embraced them. Meanwhile, the NBA’s expansion into Canada’s west coast wasn’t going well. The Grizzlies, while in Vancouver, were non-competitive to say the very least.
During their six seasons in Vancouver, the Grizzlies’ “best” record was 23-59. Fans weren’t paying to see bad basketball and attendance in 2000-2001 reflected that: just over 13,000 people were attending each game. Free agents weren’t lining up to suffer through long seasons in a half-full arena. The team was terrible and there wasn’t hope that it would get better.