Hubie Brown was the Memphis Grizzlies' coach during their first 50-win season in franchise history. And he’ll be in the building at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as the Grizzlies (49-23) chase their 50th win against the Brooklyn Nets — but this time as an ESPN color commentator during the Grizzlies’ all-access special.

Much has changed for the Grizzlies since Brown retired 12 games into the 2004-05 season. Brown remembers how when the franchise first came to Memphis, the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team was the biggest attraction in town, especially since the Grizzlies hadn't had a winning season in their six seasons in Vancouver.

One of Brown’s favorite moments came in that 50-win season in 2003-04. The Grizzlies went 50-32, Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year and Grizzlies general manager Jerry West was Executive of the Year. They were presented the awards in Game 3 of the first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs.

“The enthusiasm in the building, I can still feel it today,“ Brown said.

STEPHEN A. SMITH: Why ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is bitter every time he watches Ja Morant

HOMETOWN HERO: How Memphis Grizzlies' Desmond Bane made fans from his Indiana hometown even prouder

ALL-ACCESS ESPN: ESPN to spend full day in Memphis for all programming as part of Grizzlies all-access special

Similarities between the first 50-win Grizzlies team and the next one include their youthfulness and hustle. Just like now, the Grizzlies were one of the youngest teams in the league and finished top-two in steals and blocks.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins prides himself on presenting varying defensive coverages and adjusting looks based on game flow. The 2003-04 team did the same thing by mixing in matchup zones, box-in-ones and other zone defenses in a game.

"This team plays both ends and an exciting style," Brown said. "The fact that they rotate as many players, you're getting chance to see development of a lot of younger guys that if they are some place else may not get those minutes."

Brown, 88, is a Hall of Fame broadcaster, but he’s still a coach at heart. He sounds like he has a clipboard and marker in his hand while discussing what he has noticed from the Grizzlies.

The youthfulness stands out. Brown remembers playing 10 players to help build depth and confidence, but he also recalls telling guys they had to play the Grizzlies’ brand of basketball, or they wouldn’t see the floor.

This season’s team is the second youngest in the NBA with major contributions from players who didn’t know their ABCs when Brown roamed the sidelines.

Pau Gasol, Lorenzen Wright, Jason Williams, Mike Miller and James Posey were all 28 years old or younger when starting, like this season's team. And his thoughts on development sounds familiar.

“The big thing was to develop the talent,” Brown said. “That’s why we played 10 guys. Everybody knew about when they would play, and we knew who we were closing with.”

Brown is still going strong. And he expects walking into Wednesday's game, even at the arena in which he coached five games — FedExForum opened in September 2004 — will bring back everlasting memories.

“It’s great when you get in the building and you get to see a lot of people like the security guys, the doctors and people that worked at the offices back at that time,” Brown said. “And then the season ticket holders who have had those courtside seats all the years. It always brings back great memories."

Contact Damichael Cole at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @damichaelc

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why Hubie Brown will have a front-row seat as Grizzlies chase 50th win