Quick Facts
- Date: November 3, 1995
- Location: Rose Garden Arena (now Moda Center), Portland, Oregon
- Final: Vancouver Grizzlies 92, Portland Trail Blazers 80
- Key figures: Benoit Benjamin (29 points, 13 rebounds), Greg Anthony (15 points, 6 assists), Byron Scott (14 points); Portland’s Clifford Robinson (33 points)
- Why it matters: First regular-season game in franchise history; also Portland’s first regular-season game at the Rose Garden; the franchise later relocated to Memphis for the 2001–02 season
Main Story
On November 3, 1995, the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies — the franchise that would become the Memphis Grizzlies — played their first-ever regular-season game at Portland’s new Rose Garden and won 92–80. Center Benoit Benjamin paced the debut with 29 points and 13 boards, while point guard Greg Anthony added 15 points and six assists. Veteran Byron Scott chipped in 14, helping power a decisive fourth-quarter stretch that flipped a tight game into a two-possession cushion the Grizzlies never surrendered. Contemporary accounts noted a 12–0 Vancouver run in the final period that spoiled Portland’s home opener at the then-brand-new arena.
The game also marked the first regular-season NBA contest held at the Rose Garden. For Memphis fans tracing team lineage, this night is where the stat lines — and the identity — begin. It’s an origin point that connects the franchise’s Canadian roots to the community that now fills FedExForum and calls itself Grizz Nation.
Legacy
Six seasons after that win in Portland, the franchise relocated to Tennessee and began play as the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001–02, embedding itself in the 901’s civic life. Today, the team’s journey from that inaugural road victory to its home in the Bluff City is part of broader Memphis history — a reminder that the path to Beale Street ran through the Pacific Northwest before arriving where it truly belongs.
For fans and researchers alike, this game is a clear, well-documented milestone linking Vancouver beginnings to a franchise that now represents Memphis on the NBA stage.
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