Grizzlies #TBT: Bryant Reeves- The First Grizzly In Franchise History

There have been many people over the years that have worn a Grizzlies jersey. Some come and go and some stick around forever Cough Mike never leave us Cough. One thing is for certain though, there can be only one first ever Grizzly. That man, is Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.

As the resident dad of the group, I enjoy writing these Throwback Thursday articles. It gives me a chance do what dads do best: hardcore reminisce about how great things of the past were.

Now I’m not saying that the Vancouver days were better than the Memphis days, but what I’m saying is that 1990’s basketball was way better. The players, the physical play, the attitudes, the shorts, dominant big men. Nowadays. everyone is so focused on their brand that sometimes, they lose sight of the fact that they’re actually playing basketball. Everyone is friends, and rivalries don’t exist. Worst of all, now we have players mom’s coming to help when their son’s feelings get hurt (I see you Javale, come on man).

The Wonder Years:

I think you guys are underestimating how exciting this is for me. I get to talk about one of my favorite players as a child: Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.

As a kid, we all pretended to be a certain player when we played with our friends. Back in my day, in Washington State, everyone was either Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton or Michael Jordan. Not me though, I was Bryant Reeves. As random as that may be, I loved it. I was a scrawny little kid too, so it probably was a bit odd to see me in the post trying to back down all the other kids like I was actually 7 feet tall.

They’d all try and go for the monster dunks like Kemp, stick their tongues out like Jordan or try and dribble like Payton. I, on the other hand, would work on using my body to box them out. I pulled down rebounds like someone my size should not be able to do and then I’d hit them with a little baby hook from four feet that was good about a quarter of the time. Question it all you want, it was more effective than you might imagine.

Even if you don’t watch this whole video, you have to watch at least a minute or so. The only thing smoother than Kevin Calabro’s voice would be Chandler Parsons’ wardrobe. His voice alone should be enshrined in the basketball Hall Of Fame. Every time I hear him say literally anything, a smile comes to my face. As a kid growing up in Seattle, this man was a legend.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend:

With the sixth overall pick in the 1995 draft, the first ever draft pick for the Vancouver Grizzlies was the young fella from Oklahoma State.

At 7’0″ 290 pounds, Reeves embodied everything that big men of the 90’s stood for. He was big, physical and a force in the paint. What many people don’t realize is that, if not for injuries, he may have gone down as the best big man in Grizzlies history.

No offense, Marc.

Bryant certainly has to be at least in the running for most imposing force in Grizzlies history. The only person I could probably put in front of him would be Chris “Birdman” Anderson. He’s disqualified though because I’m not fully convinced that Anderson isn’t a real-life Terminator robot, and that’s an unfair advantage.

Bryant was so dominant that even Shaq said in a 2014 interview:

"Q: You mentioned that you came in at the end of an era for big men. Was there anyone in particular that were harder for you to play?SHAQ: David Robinson. I could never really guard Robinson. He was fast, could shoot the jumper, pump fake and everybody loved him. He was the American-type guy so if he fell, he would always get the call and I would be on the bench. The Georgetown boys, I never had problem with, never had a problem with “Erika” Dampier. Always got killed by “Big Country” Reeves. Bryant Reeves used to kill me."

A Career Cut Way Too Short:

In his rookie season, Bryant averaged a respectable 13.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. All of this was good enough for him to end up earning Second Team All-Rookie honors. The next two seasons were almost a mirror of each other. In the 1996-97 season, he averaged 16.2/ 8.1/ 2.1 and 16.3/ 7.9/ 2.1 the following season.

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After that though, injuries and weight issues plagued him for the next couple of years. His game started to plummet, and after awhile he was phased out of the Grizzlies lineup soon after the team relocated to Memphis in 2001. A back injury during a preseason game was what ultimately did him in.

Bryant ended with career numbers of 12.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists. Don’t let these numbers fool you, though. Had it not been for injury, the impact that he would have had on this franchise would’ve been tremendous. Bryant Reeves would still, to this day, be a household name.

Bryant Reeves was the baddest man in Grizzlies history.

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There have been many people over the years that have worn a Grizzlies jersey. Some come and go and some stick around forever *Cough* Mike never leave us *Cough*. One thing is for certain though, there can be only one first ever Grizzly. That man, is Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.

The Wonder Years:

The Man, The Myth, The Legend:

A Career Cut Way Too Short:

More from Grizzlies News

There have been many people over the years that have worn a Grizzlies jersey. Some come and go and some stick around forever Cough Mike never leave us Cough. One thing is for certain though, there can be only one first ever Grizzly. That man, is Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.