Grizzlies and Thunder rekindle a northwest rivalry

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Posted May 1, 2011 9:52 am.

This article is more than 5 years old.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (NEWS1130) – The teams formerly known as the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Seattle SuperSonics are facing off in round two of the NBA playoffs.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder, the league’s youngest clubs, meet today in game one of the Western Conference semi-finals.  

In what was a short-lived rivalry, the Vancouver Grizzlies and Seattle SuperSonics were natural enemies due to geography, but the two teams never met in the playoffs.  In fact, Vancouver never made the post-season in its six seasons in the NBA.

The Vancouver Grizzlies franchise was sold in 2000 to businessman Michael Heisley, who moved the club to Memphis after the 2000-2001 season.

Seattle made it to three NBA finals, winning a championship back in 1979.  The team was sold to Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett in 2006.  He moved the club south to his home state for the start of the 2008-2009 season.

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