Nobody epitomized the Vancouver Grizzlies more than Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.

The team’s first-ever draft pick in 1995, Reeves’ NBA career started out with promise, but was short-lived. The 7-foot centre was the only player to play in all six seasons of the Grizzlies’ existence in Vancouver.

But when the franchise moved to Memphis in 2001, Reeves never played another professional game. Instead, he was forced to retire at age 28 due to chronic back pain.

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With his career over, Reeves moved back to his hometown of Gans, Oklahoma (population 312). Many members of the local media had tried, but nobody was able to successfully get Big Country to speak about his time in Vancouver – until now.

Local filmmaker and lifelong fan of Reeves and the Vancouver Grizzlies, Kat Jayme not only found him, she made a documentary about him. Produced with the help of Telus Storyhive, the film titled Finding Big Country was greeted with enthusiastic fans and sold out shows at the Vancouver International Film Festival last month.

Moviegoers liked what they saw, as Finding Big Country won VIFF’s People’s Choice Award.

Watch the full-length documentary here:

Finding Big Country team: