* Geographically, the Grizzlies' hometown of Memphis is further east than any team's hometown in the Western Conference. * The Memphis Grizzlies was also the name of the franchise that was part of the now-defunct World Football League in the 1970s. This gives Memphis the distinction of having a sports franchise name being used twice for different teams in the city's history. * On the team's original franchise application to the NBA, the team name was listed as the Vancouver Mounties. The government of Canada took exception to the name, however, claiming that the name was trademarked, prompting the change to the current name. * The Grizzlies were the first NBA team to have a website, which was created in 1995 by Bob Kerstein, Chief Information Officer of the Grizzlies at the time. * As of 2006, the Grizzlies are the only team representing Memphis, Tennessee in the United States four major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL). * In an ironic twist for a city shunned by major league sports for decades, the Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets both applied with the NBA to relocate to Memphis on the same day, March 26, 2001 (The Hornets would go on to move to New Orleans). * FedEx hoped the team would change its name to the Memphis Express when the team moved to Tennessee. The NBA quickly quashed that idea, ruling that they would not allow teams to be named for corporations. * Sidney Lowe was the first coach of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise in Memphis. *The Grizzlies have never won a playoff game in three series. They were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2004, by the Phoenix Suns in 2005, and by the Dallas Mavericks in 2006.
