Its been 24 years since Vancouver last had an NBA team, yes I know very depressing. Is there potential for the city to get a team again, and what is the timeline? Lets get into it!
The Vancouver Grizzlies
Vancouver did at one point have an NBA team called the Vancouver Grizzlies. They were around from 1995-2001. The organization lasted a whopping 6 years due to there not being a very big interest for a basketball market in the city and the team being pretty bad for the majority of their short history. Although the Grizzlies were not very good there were some promising aspects of the team. They had pretty decent players such as Bryant “Big Country” Reeves, Mike Bibby and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who were all standout players during their time in Vancouver. After the 6 years were up in Vancouver it was decided that the team would relocate to Memphis Tennessee, Where they would now be the Memphis Grizzlies.
Basketball Culture in Vancouver
Fast forward now to 2025, the city now has a fantastic basketball culture with thriving programs for youth academies and university level athletes. UBC is one of the best university basketball programs in the country and have produced multiple high level professional players throughout the years. Vancouver is also home to the Vancouver Bandits, a professional basketball team in the Canadian Elite Basketball League or the CEBL. The Bandits have done a great job of increasing interest of basketball in Vancouver and even had some success with the franchise making it to the championship games in both 2020 and 2024 seasons. The team also welcomed Social Media Basketball Influencer Tristan Jazz as a new player to their roster in May, which has further gathered interest for the Bandits and the sport of basketball.
Will We See An NBA Franchise Return To Vancouver?
Vancouver is among the next top 3 potential destinations for an NBA franchise. According to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Las Vegas and Seattle are the priority destinations for NBA teams but has hinted at the idea of a team in Vancouver or Montreal. The real question is, how would the franchise do this time around? I believe the culture in our city is much more diverse and has changed immensely since the last time we had a team. Basketball as a sport has grown globally and become much more popular in Canada over the past 10 years. In the next 10 years I believe the Vancouver will once again have an NBA team and we can join Toronto as the only other city in Canada with a team.
Since the name “Grizzlies” has been taken, what would you name our future NBA team in Vancouver?