Memphis Grizzlies

Founded: 1995
Team Owner: Robert Pera
Head Coach: Dave Joerger
Team Icon: Vince Carter
Overall Record: 597-913
D-League Affiliate: Iowa Energy
Championships: nada
Arena: FedExForum
Arena Capacity: 18,119
Arena Co-Tenants: Memphis Tigers (NCAA)
City: Memphis, TN
Website: www.grizzlies.com

Here is another great example of a team having a name that made a lot of sense before said team relocated. Memphis started in Vancouver and was going to be named the Mounties, but even the Canadian Mounted Police were strongly against this brilliantly horrible idea. So yet another name-the-team contest ensued.

Ownership wanted to name their new team something descriptive of the region, and since Mounties was off the table they went with Grizzlies which was a popular choice among fans. When Vancouver relocated to Memphis in 2002 team owners were looking to rename the franchise, but fans were supportive of the Grizzlies name and they stuck with it.