In November, many places in North America enter winter, snowflakes fall, and most of Canada, America’s northern neighbor, starts to be covered in white snow. This country, which has the second-largest land area in the world, is mostly uninhabitable forests and wasteland.
The truly habitable areas are just that line and a few dots, including the Vancouver area bordering Washington State. Warm currents flow through this low latitude area, while the northern mountains block cold currents, making the climate here mild and turning it into Canada’s third-largest city.
The weather here is similar to Portland’s; starting in November, there’s a lot of rainy and snowy weather, with over 20 days of continuous drizzle and snow within a month.
In such weather, watching a professional game indoors with family is indeed a great activity for the city’s residents.
In Canada, such sports first choice is hockey, and the Vancouver Canucks are the team all Vancouver citizens support.
By 1995, Vancouver citizens had a new team to support—a professional basketball team.
The always-in-expansion NBA extended its reach to its northern neighbor.
In the 1995-1996 season, two Canadian teams entered the NBA family, namely the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies.
Actually, the NBA originally had a Canadian team, and in the league’s founding year, the Toronto Huskies were one of them.
Furthermore, the Huskies and New York Knicks completed the first game in NBA history, with the Huskies losing to the Knicks.
It was an ordinary game with over 7,000 spectators on-site. After the season, due to poor management, the Huskies disbanded after just one season.
At that time, no one expected the struggling NBA to persist year after year, eventually developing into the commercial entertainment empire it is today, and bringing professional basketball back to Canada.
New teams entering the league inevitably undergo a period of struggle and adaptation, which may last long—because not every team can have Pat Riley.
Moreover, to prevent the dilution of the league’s talent rapidly like what happened when teams like the Heat and Hornets joined the league, the NBA imposed more restrictions on the Grizzlies and Raptors during this expansion.
In three seasons, regardless of their performance, during the draft, they would face restrictions. In 1995, they couldn’t obtain top-five picks, and in 1996 and 1997, they couldn’t get the first pick; even if they drew it, they automatically moved down the order.
This meant that the top, no-brainer talent entering the league in the years 95, 96, and 97 couldn’t join the new teams.
They also couldn’t use the full salary cap, meaning they couldn’t aggressively pursue free agents; an incident like Drexler’s wouldn’t happen again.
In 1996, the Vancouver Grizzlies could have had the highest probability of getting the first pick. If it had happened, they would’ve gotten Allen Iverson, bringing significant popularity to the team.
In the NBA, oftentimes a superstar can truly change a team’s destiny.
Especially during the expanding 90s, individual heroism in this area would be interpreted to the ultimate.
Unfortunately, this luck was taken from the Vancouver Grizzlies, and they only secured the third pick, selecting Abdul-Rahim.
With the second pick, the Toronto Raptors chose Marcus Camby.
When missing out on the most first-pick-like player, many teams at the second or third pick opt for an inside player.
Because picking a big man is generally safe, although history continuously proves the error rate for big men is not less than that for small ones.
The 1996 season for the Grizzlies was destined to be bleak, with a record of 15 wins and 67 losses, adding to many teams’ victories.
The 1996-1997 season, although they acquired Rashim, still didn’t show significant improvement, and the team’s season ticket sales situation remained unideal.
However, on November 1, 1996, NBA’s regular season opening day for the 1996-1997 season, light snow fell from the sky, but the enthusiasm of Vancouver fans was unstoppable.
At the Grizzlies’ home, General Motors Arena, many fans had already driven here early, waiting for the game to start because the Grizzlies’ opponent for the first match was the Portland Trail Blazers.
Compared to the 80s, after more than a decade of development, the NBA not only expanded in the number of teams but also saw constant increases in player salaries, the expansion of fan clubs, and enrichment in basketball-related activities. During the waiting time for the game to start within the arena, there are many interesting game devices and souvenir shops to keep fans entertained.
Some fans arrived early to sit at their seats in the arena, starting to wait for the players to enter and warm up—a great chance for fans to connect with their favorite stars, seeking autographs or even pictures.
Tonight, sitting by the sidelines waiting for players to enter and warm up, there are particularly many fans, especially many young fans, among whom many are Asian children with yellow skin and black hair.
Vancouver, as an immigrant city located on the Pacific West Coast, has always been an important city for Asian, particularly Chinese, immigration. The Chinatown here is the third-largest in North America, only after New York and San Francisco.
The reason for the influx of Chinese people into the arena is simple: tonight, Ah Gan is here, and the sun of Chinese basketball will rise again on the West Coast.
Gan Guoyang’s first return game garnered worldwide intense attention—this was the most-followed game since the Grizzlies’ founding.