FUN FACTS: MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

Royal Canadian Mounted Police, eh?

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What could have been.

In our quest to roll out a 'Fun Facts' on every single NBA team before October 28th, so far we're at one: the Washington Wizards, filed by our DC-originated fall intern, Ishita. Here now, the Memphis Grizzlies. The future of the franchise, it appears, could be our man O.J. Mayo. Start by checking out a Chris Broussard video interview with him, then move forward with the fun and factual content below.

1. The original name for the Vancouver Grizzlies was going to be the Vancouver Mounties, but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police objected.

2. Somewhat depressing: the first draft pick in Grizzlies' history was Bryant "Big Country" Reeves.

3. Hamed Haddadi, listed on the current roster, is slated to become the first Iranian to play in the NBA.

4. Another foreign player on the Grizz, Malick Badiane from Senegal, has 18 brothers and sisters. Somewhat oddly, he also lists the Dallas Mavericks as his favorite team. That may upset management.

5. Marc Iavaroni (we always thought he'd get a head gig sooner than he did) went to John F. Kennedy HS in Plainview, NY at the same time as current Virginia Tech Men's Basketball coach Seth Greenberg.

6. Javaris Crittenton broke his childhood basketball hoop from overuse.

7. GM Chris Wallace (who thus shares the same name as The Notorious B.I.G.) is a rare example of a pro sports GM that never played or coached at the professional level of the sport. Some knock Wallace for this; we think the jury's still out. He's also credited for encouraging the Celtics to draft Paul Pierce out of Kansas.

8. Kind of depressing: the mascot, Grizz, is currently on a medical leave of absence from the team.

9. If you want to sing the National Anthem at a Grizzlies game, you can. Cue this clip.

10. Because Marko Jaric is on the Grizzlies now, we feel compelled to include one completely safe-for-work picture of Adriana Lima in here. Hey, it's fun. And factually, they are together. So we're totally legit.

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