The thing about the Vancouver Grizzlies is that most people forget they ever even existed until someone brings them up. Even then, most NBA fans know very little about the incredibly short-lived team thanks to just how little of a mark it actually made during its stay in the NBA. Not a single overrated player to be found on that team.

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The team that would ultimately become the Memphis Grizzlies is well-regarded as one of the worst teams in NBA history, though fans of the team have argued as to the exact reasons why that was the case. Thanks to the fact that they couldn't exactly be called underrated, there is a lot that NBA fans likely forget about the team.

10 They Weren’t Around All That Long

Most modern fans probably forget about the NBA expansion thanks to what a strange and messy time it actually was, leading most people to completely forget that the Vancouver Grizzlies really didn’t exist for all that long. The team only lasted roughly six years.

Throughout their entire existence, the team had to battle serious odds in order to even survive for as long as they did. It seems clear now that making the switch to Memphis was the right move overall, but Canadian NBA fans have been clamoring for the return of a Vancouver team in recent years.

9 They Were Awful

Some teams go through a few lean years, then are eventually able to turn things around. Some teams are unfortunately saddled with more than a few years of less than stellar play. Sadly, the Vancouver Grizzlies had one of the worst records in the NBA for their entire existence.

The team wasn’t hurting for impressive players either, but strong players didn’t equal any kind of consistent success. To put it into perspective, the team’s season with the most wins is their final with 23 wins in 82 games. Their worst seasons saw them winning only 8 and 14 games.

8 The Team Was Started Alongside Toronto

With the recent success of the Toronto Raptors, it can be easy to forget that they haven’t been around nearly as long as some other NBA teams. In fact, the Raptors were a part of the expansion of the NBA into Canada as a whole and was started alongside the Vancouver Grizzlies.

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Both teams struggled to gain a solid footing in the NBA, but the Raptors did manage to adjust better. The solidification of Toronto as the city to be within Canada only added the fuel and support that Toronto was able to garner, giving it a more solid foundation than Vancouver ever had.

7 There Really Wasn’t Any Basketball In Canada Before Them

While basketball was technically invented by a Canadian, the game really wasn’t all that popular in Canada as a whole. Hockey has pretty much always been the sport of choice for a majority of Canadians, leaving basketball without a serious place.

Teams existed, and the Toronto Huskies played briefly in the BAA before it became the NBA, but the sport never caught on. Basketball fans in Canada were stuck having to support either major stars or a city that they had some kind of personal connection with.

6 They Could Have Had A Different Name

While the Vancouver Grizzlies didn’t see a lot of success, it seems clear that the grizzly bear branding it something that people like. It was a much better choice than the possible alternative that would have seen the Vancouver Grizzlies playing as the Vancouver Mounties.

Canadians have plenty of pride in their country, but for many, that is just painfully Canadian. Luckily, the famed Mounties of Canada weren’t fond of the use of their name, so that plan was changed and Vancouver became the Grizzlies.

5 They Were The First NBA Team To Have A Website

A rather strange thing to think about today is that there was a time in which basketball teams didn’t have dedicated websites or web pages in an official capacity. Somehow, the Vancouver Grizzlies apparently became the first NBA team to actually have their own dedicated site.

Since the website was created in 1995, it’s probably safe to say that it was about as rudimentary as it could get, but it still is impressive. Fans who were unaware of the website may never truly know what the Canadian site from the 90s actually looked like.

4 They Set A Record For Losses

It really can’t be understated how bad the Grizzlies actually were while they were playing in Vancouver. They were so bad that they managed to set an NBA record at the time, with that record being a rather significant losing streak.

The team managed to lose 23 regular season games in a row. That record has actually been beaten by two relatively good teams in the Cavaliers and 76ers, but it still is a shocking record, especially when they had solid odds drafting a decent team.

3 They Had An Issue With Steve Francis

In an effort to turn their team around, Vancouver did what every poor team does and turned to the NBA Draft. One of their key picks in 1999 looked to be Steve Francis, but the team had more than a few issues with the promising talent.

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The biggest issue was that Francis had absolutely no desire to play for the team, and made that strikingly clear. Due to the issues, Francis wound up as a part of a massive trade, something that would work out for him as he would go on to be named Rookie Of The Year.

2 Their Uniforms Were Partially Inspired By Native Culture

When it comes to the uniforms of various sports teams, a lot has to be taken into consideration. Sometimes the colors are simple design choices meant to compliment a mascot, other times colors are meant to represent the area the team is from, and sometimes colors are to pay tribute to history.

The Vancouver Grizzlies color scheme of turquoise, bronze, red, and black was supposedly selected in order to pay tribute to Native culture. Accents on the uniform were also used to pay tribute to them in a design that many NBA fans think is criminally underrated.

1 They Had Five Coaches In Six Years

A lot of people have talked about why the Grizzlies were so unsuccessful on the court during their time in the NBA, and one of the biggest things is the team's lack of trust in players and coaching staff. Cohesion needs to be built, and that’s not necessarily something that can be done in a day.

In six years, the team had five coaches, and none of them managed to pull the Grizzlies out of their rut. Sticking with one coach and trusting their process likely would have paid off if the team could have survived a bit longer.

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