Bryant Reeves

Bryant Reeves (born June 8, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Reeves spent his entire career with the National Basketball Association's Vancouver Grizzlies, playing with the team from 1995 until 2001. He was nicknamed "Big Country" by his college teammate Byron Houston after Reeves was amazed by the size of the United States following his first cross-country airplane flight,[1] having grown up in the small community of Gans, Oklahoma.[2]

For the American football player, see Bryan Reeves.
Bryant Reeves
Personal information
Born (1973-06-08) June 8, 1973
Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight290 lb (132 kg)
Career information
High schoolGans (Gans, Oklahoma)
CollegeOklahoma State (1991–1995)
NBA draft1995: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies
Playing career1995–2002
PositionCenter
Number50
Career history
1995–2002Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points4,945 (12.5 ppg)
Rebounds2,745 (6.9 rpg)
Blocks302 (0.8 bpg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

College career

Standing 7 feet (210 cm) tall and weighing between 275 and 300 pounds (125 and 136 kg), Reeves was an imposing physical presence on the court and was primed to become a dominant center in the NBA. He had a strong collegiate career with Oklahoma State University, where he averaged 21.5 points per game as a senior and led OSU to the 1995 Final Four.

Professional career

Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies (1995–2002)

Reeves became the Grizzlies' first-ever draft choice, selected sixth overall in the 1995 NBA draft.[3]

Reeves played six seasons with the Grizzlies. After averaging 13.3 points per game in a solid rookie season, he averaged 16.2 points per game in 1996–97 season and was subsequently awarded with a six-year, $61.8 million contract extension. The next season was his best, when he averaged 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.08 blocked shots per game. During that season he scored a career-high 41 points against the Boston Celtics.

After 1998, weight-control problems and injuries began to take a toll on Reeves, and his numbers fell off dramatically.[4] He was still the starting center for the Grizzlies, but his minutes per game dropped, and his field goal percentage dropped significantly. Eventually, after the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 2001, Reeves started the season on the injured list due to chronic back pain and was never able to play another game (the only games he played with the team in Memphis were two preseason games). During the preseason play in the fall of 2001, Reeves had experienced back pain and had to be taken off the court on two connected stretchers carried by eight of his teammates. On January 29, 2002, the Grizzlies announced Reeves' retirement from the league due to chronic back pain caused by degenerative discs.[5] At the time he was the Grizzlies all-time leader in games played with 395.[6]

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1995–96 Vancouver 776324.9.457.000.7327.41.40.60.713.3
1996–97 Vancouver 757537.0.486.091.7048.12.10.40.916.2
1997–98 Vancouver 747434.1.523.000.7067.92.10.51.116.3
1998–99 Vancouver 251428.1.406.000.5785.51.50.50.310.8
1999–00 Vancouver 696725.7.448.000.6485.71.20.50.68.9
2000–01 Vancouver 754824.4.460.250.7966.01.10.60.78.3
Career 39534130.6.475.074.7036.91.60.50.812.5

Personal life

Bryant was the subject of Kathleen Jayme's documentary film Finding Big Country in 2018.[7] Following his career, Reeves went back to Oklahoma and is now a cattle farmer and a family man, living on a ranch in Sequoyah County.[8] His son Trey was a three year walk on at Oklahoma State, earning a scholarship his final year and was accepted to Harvard Law School.[9][10]

See also

References
  1. NBA.com player file
  2. Reeves' Town Reacts When `News' Breaks
  3. The First Face of the Grizzlies Franchise and a Big Country
  4. PRO BASKETBALL; Some Scales Tipping Over As N.B.A. Season Tips Off
  5. "Reeves retired with back injury". United Press International. 29 January 2002. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  6. "Back to the country - Back injury forces Grizzlies' Reeves to retirement". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 29 January 2002. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  7. Dana Gee, "Finding Big Country documentary answers the whatever happened to question". Vancouver Sun, December 4, 2018.
  8. Writer, BILL HAISTEN World Sports (3 July 2020). "Back to the Country: Former OSU basketball great Bryant Reeves savors life on a piece of paradise in Sequoyah County". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  9. "Son of Bryant 'Big Country' Reeves is surprised when he is given a scholarship at Oklahoma State". CBSSports.com. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  10. Unruh, Jacob. "'He really is gifted': How Trey Reeves went from Oklahoma State walk-on to Harvard Law School". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
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