Bibby says he told Vancouver Grizzlies not to draft him — but they still did

In the six seasons the NBA called Vancouver home, point guard Mike Bibby was one of the most notable players to wear a Grizzlies jersey.

But it seems like he didn’t exactly want to be there in the first place.

Appearing on the All the Smoke podcast with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Bibby revisited his draft day experience back in 1998, which was coincidentally held in Vancouver.

Agent David Falk had told him it was likely that Michael Olowokandi would be picked first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers, opening the door to Bibby going second overall to the Grizzlies.

Speaking to general manager Stu Jackson and head coach Brian Hill, Bibby didn’t exactly seem too thrilled about calling the city he was set to get drafted in his new home.

“I’m 19 years old. I don’t really want to be out of the country. So I go upstairs, I talked to the general manager, the head coach,” Bibby said. “I’m looking out the window. It was raining. It’s gloomy… I said, ‘I don’t want to play here.’ And they were like, ‘We’re gonna pick you anyway.'”

Bibby averaged 14.7 points, 7.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 214 games for the Grizzlies over the next three seasons, though the team wasn’t exactly the best: going just 53-161 over that span, missing the postseason all three times.

On June 27, 2001, the news broke that Bibby would be traded to the Sacramento Kings, with the Grizzlies officially announcing their move to Memphis the next week after being approved by the NBA Board of Governors. Bibby and Brent Price were flipped to the Kings for Jason Williams and Nick Anderson.

In Bibby’s first year in Sacramento, the Kings finished first in the league with 61 wins, making it to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals before ultimately losing to the Los Angeles Lakers. He played for four more teams after leaving Sacramento in 2008, finishing off his career in 2012 with the New York Knicks.

Even though a move to Memphis would’ve been a fresh start of sorts for Bibby, it’s no surprise that he looks back on the trade fondly given how his Kings tenure compared to his time in Vancouver.

“It was the best day of my life,” Bibby said of finding out he’d be going to Sacramento.

The full interview is available below.

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