The Grizzlies had the sixth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and selected small forward Shane Battier from Duke University, and acquired top draft pick and Spanish basketball star Pau Gasol, point guard Brevin Knight and former University of Memphis star Lorenzen Wright from the Atlanta Hawks; Gasol was drafted by the Hawks with the third overall pick.
[7][8][9][10][11] During the off-season, the team acquired point guard Jason Williams, and veteran shooting guard Nick Anderson from the Sacramento Kings,[12][13][14] and signed free agent Rodney Buford.
Gasol led the team with 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, and was named Rookie of the Year,[22][23] while Battier had a solid rookie season averaging 14.4 points per game.
Williams finished second on the team in scoring with 14.8 points, and led them with 8.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
For the season, the team replaced the city name "Vancouver" with "Memphis" above their primary logo of a grizzly bear holding a basketball,[28] and also replaced "Vancouver" with "Memphis" on their uniforms.