Story of a Card: Bonzi Wells, 2004-05 Topps #6

In December of 2003, the Grizzlies and Nets were headed in opposite directions.  In their second season under the accomplished coach Hubie Brown, a youthful Memphis squad had already won twelve of twenty games, including a franchise-record streak of six in a row.  Despite the rigors of playing in the powerhouse Midwest Division, the Grizzlies were, for the first time in their eight year history, developing into a formidable foe.  In addition to the progression of the reigning Rookie of the Year, a seven-foot Spaniard by the name of Pau Gasol, the team’s standing was elevated by the acquisitions of James Posey and Bonzi Wells.  A pair of athletic swingmen, Posey and Wells fit in seamlessly.  Able to run alongside transition magician Jason Williams, the duo also brought a degree of toughness which helped the Grizzlies make dramatic defensive improvements.

Meanwhile, in the meadowlands, the Nets found themselves in the early stages of a fall from [relative] grace.  Having won consecutive Eastern Conference titles, Byron Scott, Jason Kidd and company weren’t supposed to be hovering around .500.  Though a coaching change would inspire the team win 25 of its last 40, they’d eventually go on to be defeated in a heartbreaking seven-game semifinal by the eventual Champion Detroit Pistons.  Shortly thereafter, Kidd’s favorite running mate, Kenyon Martin, departed to Denver in free agency; and thus began a steady decline from which the franchise is yet to recover.

On the 13th of the month, the Nets and Grizzlies were scheduled to face off for the second time in ten days.  The Nets were coming off a couple of wins, the Grizzlies a loss, but the Grizzlies had beaten the Nets in New Jersey, and overall trends foreshadowed a statement victory by the home team.

The Bonzi Wells dunk pictured on the card in question represents two of his game-high 22 points.  It also represents the first of three Grizzly slams to be thrown down in the final two minutes of the most lopsided triumph in franchise history.  In a second half they won 65-35, the Grizzlies encountered virtually no resistance as they ran the floor at breakneck speed, repeatedly bombarding the Nets’ rim.  Human sledgehammer Stromile Swift, Wells’ partner in crime off one of the league’s most capable benches, smashed the iron on four devastating occasions.  In the waning seconds, Wells connected with Swift on one of the most spectacular alley-oops in NBA history, inciting pandemonium at the Pyramid.

It was later reported that the Nets could be heard screaming profanities at one another in the confines of their locker room, which had been closed to the media, presumably for fear that Kenyon Martin might decapitate an inquisitive reporter.

Wells, Swift, and the rest of the Grizzlies would go on to win fifty games, more than enough to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.  Though the success of Hubie’s Grizzlies was both limited and short lived, their breakthrough into respectability was an exciting development in Memphis basketball --- one which will not be soon forgotten by those fond of the Grizzlies.



Photograph: December 13, 2003; Nets v Grizzlies; The Pyramid; Memphis, TN; Joe Murphy