Baller Bio: Bryant Reeves

Bryant "Big Country" Reeves played basketball at Oklahoma State University and in the NBA for the Grizzlies. He was a star center in the mid-90's, until injuries ended his career early.

Reeves was born on June 8, 1973 in Fort Smith, Arkansas and grew up in the small town of Gans, Oklahoma.

He played four seasons of college ball at Oklahoma State where he scored more than 2,000 points and grabbed over 1,000 rebounds. In his senior year, he averaged 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds while leading the Cowboys to the 1995 Final Four.

Reeves applied for the 1995 NBA Draft and was drafted 6th overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He was their first ever draft choice. Big Country had a solid rookie season in Canada and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

He improved in his next season and put up averages 16.2 points and 7.4 rebounds and after the season, he signed six-year, 61.8 million-dollar contract to stay with the team.

The 1997-1998 season was arguably Reeves' best season as he averaged 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. Also, his field goal percentage (52.3%) ranked tenth in the league, but the Grizzlies still weren't performing well and won less than 20 games in each of their first three seasons.

His next season was the start of the decline of his career. He only played in 25 games while his production and minutes decreased.

Reeves was paid more than 8 and a half million dollars during the 1999-2000 season while putting up averages of only 8.9 points and 5.7 rebounds.

The next season, the Grizzlies beat their record for wins in a season with 23, but still didn't make the playoffs, while Reeves averaged career-lows in points, assists, and minutes.

Reeves never played in the NBA again and retired halfway through the 2001-2002 season due to chronic back pain.

Reeves finished with career averages of 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds over the course of six seasons and a total of 395 games played. He is currently the fifth all-time leading scorer for the Grizzlies behind Pau Gasol, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Rudy Gay, and Mike Miller.

Reeves instantly fell off the radar after his playing career ended and hasn't made much news since besides people reminiscing on his days with the Grizzlies in Vancouver. According to ShamSports.com, he bought 300 acres of land, built a 15,000 square-foot house on it, and started a cattle ranch with his dad.

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