Memphis Grizzlies: Introducing the Greatest Grizzly tournament

MEMPHIS, TN - APRIL 9: Tayshaun Prince #21, Marc Gasol #33, Tony Allen #9, Mike Conley #11, and Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrate during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on April 9, 2013 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - APRIL 9: Tayshaun Prince #21, Marc Gasol #33, Tony Allen #9, Mike Conley #11, and Zach Randolph #50 of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrate during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on April 9, 2013 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

With the absence of sports or the March Madness tournament to the Covid-19 pandemic, Beale Street Bears presents…The Greatest Grizzly Tournament to determine the best Memphis Grizzlies player ever.

It’s been nearly half a month since the NBA suspended its season, and the NCAA followed suit soon after by cancelling their annual March Madness Tournament.

With China postponing the resuming of their season, there doesn’t seem to be an end to the suspension in the near future. But fear not citizens! We’re going to step up and do something that we’ve never done before.

Introducing…the Greatest Grizzly Tournament!

The purpose of the tournament is fairly simply stated; to find the best player to ever play on the Memphis or Vancouver Grizzlies.

The parameters of the tournament are also fairly simple. In order to be considered for this tournament, the player in question has to have played at least one season with Memphis or Vancouver without having been traded to the team, or signed halfway through the season.

Seeding for the tournament was completely random, and I tried to incorporate members from different eras (though admittedly, it was hard not to name players from the Grit-‘N-Grind era). The tournament has 16 seeds, and will have four rounds.

Seeding decisions will be published every week, on the schedule below:

Monday, April 6th: First round, Part 1

Wednesday, April 8th: First round, Part 2

Monday, April 13th: Quarterfinals

Monday, April 20th: Semifinals

Monday, April 27th: Finals

After the finals, we’ll be publishing a piece of the five best moments of the finalists career.

When each piece is published (so, twice next week and then once every following week), we will be publishing a Twitter poll for loser reentry. If one player gets 75% of the votes, they will be reinserted into the tournament, either facing the next player to reenter or facing the winner of the finals round.

On a slightly more personal note, I hope you all are staying healthy and safe, and we’ll see you next week for the first round of the Greatest Grizzly Tournament!