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He felt given away by the Clippers, and misunderstood by the public. How his initial reaction to landing here was a word that rhymes with grit.

50 in the middle – easily overlooked.Ībout 30 minutes before tip-off, Randolph re-hashed once more his arrival in Memphis via trade back in 2009. That is, still, the most remarkable part of how Saturday night came to be, the part that made little details like Tony Allen’s conspicuous absence due to his pending legal issues and the fact that the retired jersey up in the rafters isn’t a jersey at all – it’s a platinum record with No. To a time that will always be remembered as when Memphis really, truly fell in love with NBA basketball, in no small part because it fell in love with Randolph. This was as much a tribute to what he and his teams created for the Grizzlies and this community. It was, in every sense, a definitively Memphis moment, occasionally emotional but mostly joyous and triumphant and a rollicking reminder of how much fun Randolph helped to orchestrate with every jab step, mean mug, fadeaway and baby hook. Former coach Lionel Hollins and former general manager Chris Wallace were each on the premises again, despite unceremonious exits from the organization.įans celebrate former Memphis Grizzlies great Zach Randolph during his jersey retirement ceremony, the first in franchise history, at FedExForum on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Robert Pera made a rare appearance in the owner’s box. So Marc Gasol flew in from Spain despite playing in a game on Friday night, surprising Randolph and getting the full-throated ovation from tens of thousands of Grizzlies fans that the COVID-19 pandemic took from us, when Gasol's return to Memphis occurred with the Lakers in a near-empty building. 50 become the franchise’s first jersey retired, a coronation that went down with a live performance of “Whoop That Trick” by Al Kapone as the banner was unveiled high up in the rafters, with plenty of room for the rest of the Core Four beside it. GIANNOTTO: What the fear and relief of Ja Morant's knee injury mean for the Memphis GrizzliesĮverywhere you looked around the arena, on a night when the Grizzlies’ 113-106 win over the Houston Rockets served as merely an extended opening act, this became a theme expressed by all the familiar faces who showed up to salute Zach Randolph. GIANNOTTO: Remember what Zach Randolph means to Memphis and the Grizzlies for those who can't