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Bryant Reeves

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For the American football player, see Bryan Reeves.

Bryant Reeves
Personal information
Born (1973-06-08) June 8, 1973 (age 51)
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 Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

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]

College career

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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

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Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies (1995–2002)

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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 the 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 preseason play in the fall of 2001, Reeves experienced back pain after just two preseason games.[5] On January 29, 2002, the Grizzlies announced Reeves' retirement from the NBA due to chronic back pain caused by degenerative discs.[6] At the time he was the Grizzlies all-time leader in games played with 395.[7]

NBA career statistics

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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

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1995–96 Vancouver 77 63 24.9 .457 .000 .732 7.4 1.4 0.6 0.7 13.3
1996–97 Vancouver 75 75 37.0 .486 .091 .704 8.1 2.1 0.4 0.9 16.2
1997–98 Vancouver 74 74 34.1 .523 .000 .706 7.9 2.1 0.5 1.1 16.3
1998–99 Vancouver 25 14 28.1 .406 .000 .578 5.5 1.5 0.5 0.3 10.8
1999–00 Vancouver 69 67 25.7 .448 .000 .648 5.7 1.2 0.5 0.6 8.9
2000–01 Vancouver 75 48 24.4 .460 .250 .796 6.0 1.1 0.6 0.7 8.3
Career 395 341 30.6 .475 .074 .703 6.9 1.6 0.5 0.8 12.5

Personal life

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Bryant was the subject of Kathleen Jayme's documentary film Finding Big Country in 2018.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10][11]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ "Grizzlies' Reeves disabled by back".
  6. ^ "Reeves retired with back injury". United Press International. January 29, 2002. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  7. ^ "Back to the country - Back injury forces Grizzlies' Reeves to retirement". Sports Illustrated. CNN. January 29, 2002. Archived from the original on March 10, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Dana Gee, "Finding Big Country documentary answers the whatever happened to question". Vancouver Sun, December 4, 2018.
  9. ^ Writer, BILL HAISTEN World Sports (July 3, 2020). "Back to the Country: Former OSU basketball great Bryant Reeves savors life on a piece of paradise in Sequoyah County". Tulsa World. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "Son of Bryant 'Big Country' Reeves is surprised when he is given a scholarship at Oklahoma State". CBSSports.com. November 9, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  11. ^ Unruh, Jacob. "'He really is gifted': How Trey Reeves went from Oklahoma State walk-on to Harvard Law School". The Oklahoman. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
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