Abdur-Rahim played college basketball at the University of California, Berkeley with the Golden Bears. He was selected 3rd overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1996 NBA Draft. During his time with the Grizzlies, he became the team's leading scorer and set a franchise record of 18.7 points per game. He averaged 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 35 minutes per game. He also finished 3rd in balloting for the Schick NBA Rookie of the Year behind the Philadelphia 76ers' Allen Iverson and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Stephon Marbury, and was picked for the All-Rookie First Team. During the next few seasons, Abdur-Rahim was the centerpiece of the Grizzlies team. He improved his performance the following years with 22.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg and 2.6 assists per game (apg) in his sophomore season and 23.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 3.4 apg in the next season. Even through his best effort, the Grizzlies were still at the bottom two spots of the Midwest Division in his first four seasons.