Zachlanddorff's No. 50 jersey finally hung high above the FedEx Center, becoming the first player in team history to retire a jersey.
In Memphis, the hometown of Elvis Presley, the king of pop music, the Grizzlies made a retired jersey into a record style for Randolph, who also loved music, which can be described as unique according to local conditions.
Under the watchful eyes and witnesses of fans, in the blessings of former teammates and mentors, and in the ardent expectations of his family, Randolph, who was dressed in attendance, repeatedly shed tears of emotion, and he finally drew a complete end to his NBA career at the age of 40.
For a professional player, this is very happy.
But if you turn the hand of time back to more than a decade ago, it is difficult to imagine that Randolph will have achieved what he has today, because at that time, he was a complete asshole, especially when he saw Rashid Wallace's figure in the commemorative film recorded for Randolph by the famous rapper and big3 league founder Ice Cube, and when he found that Bonziwells, who had become a coach, was also on the scene, Randolph's bad past must be mentioned. Yes, if you're a little more familiar with the NBA, you'll know more or less about the absurdity of the Trail Blazers and Randolph.
In 2001, at the age of 20, Randolph landed in Portland with the 19th pick in the first round at the draft. At that time, in addition to Pippen and Sabonis, the Rose Garden Arena had a collection of famous thorn heads, as you know, there was Rashid, who was known as the roaring god and threatened the referee at every turn, Ruben Patterson, who was suspected of domestic violence and self-proclaimed Kobe Terminator, Stademire, who was suspected of drug possession and speeding, Old Kemp, who was an alcoholic and drug addict, and Bonzi Wells, who claimed not to pay attention to the fans at all, because these big men had all been imprisoned. So it was dubbed the Portland Prison Team by the media. In such an environment, how can the young Gu Confused Boy Randolph be willing to be with the queen? Just entered the league, all kinds of demons were on the field. In 2002, he drunk and gave perjury; in 2003, he hid contraband; in 2004, he got into a fight with Ruben Patterson, who was also keen on fighting, and even got into a fight on the training ground. That fight is Randolph's violent masterpiece since his debut, Patterson debuted a few years earlier, mixed up, often fist talking, teammates suffer him for a long time, Randolph is taller and more powerful than him, this time he cleaned him up well, from then on the world is too peaceful, no one dares to provoke Randolph.
Later, the infamous "aunt funeral incident" occurred, making Randolph the best object of ridicule and ridicule. It was during McMillan's tenure, Randolph left the team on the grounds that he wanted to attend his aunt's funeral, McMillan immediately agreed, but the pervasive gossip media TMZ kicked Randolph's lies, of course, he did not attend any Rausch funeral, but played with his heart, playing in a strip club was filmed. So although Randolph got mip in the third grade, the on-field data was not bad, but it was precisely because of the poor wind rating that it was regarded as a cancer. After 6 years in Portland, he was swept out of the house and New York became the second stop of his career.
Randolph, who came to New York with a vice and a large contract, remained restless. On February 20, 2008, the Knicks played against the Wizards, and in the final 19.5 seconds of the final quarter, Randolph and teammate Nate Robinson had an inexplicable argument on the bench. Randolph poured a glass of water vigorously, and the towel in the hands of the "little potato" smashed over to fight back, and the teammates killed in time, separating the two sides and quelling a battle between the ladies. It's just one of all the bad things Randolph did in one season plus 11 games in New York.
New York fans have always been mean, and the New York media is even more critical in this regard, and Randolph was expected to be accused of thousands of people, and expected to annoy then Knicks owner Downey Walsh. Downey did not want to see Randolph, and was bent on trading him out, and it is said that the three-way deal involving Randolph's Nugget Bucks Knicks could be basically reached, but because of Randolph's fight with Robinson, it immediately became a disaster. Downey was furious and put down his harsh words, no matter what, he wanted to send the dead fat man away, but no one took the mess, coincidentally, at this time, only the grizzly bear came to test, and the Knicks refused.
But the Knicks eventually got their wish and sent away the "dead fat man". Randolph traveled to Los Angeles, another big city, the Los Angeles Clippers.
In this big city of red and green, Randolph is still muddy, his most outrageous one is that he once left the game with an injury, but did not return to the locker room, but hid in the players' tunnel cat, and when the Clippers were about to catch up with the score, staged the bridge section of the hero's return, which can be described as very grasping and very nervous. As you can imagine, Randolph's days on the Clippers won't last long.
It wasn't until the summer of 2009 that the Clippers made a deal with the Grizzlies, quentin Richardson swapped owners with Randolph. Randolph finally arrived in Memphis.
In fact, he already has a slight relationship with the Grizzlies. Randolph's first preseason game of his career was against the Grizzlies, when the Grizzlies had just moved from Vancouver to Memphis, a team with a white face and a rookie tandem, with a white face and a center named Paul Gasol, and Randolph recalled how he felt when he first confronted him, this Spaniard was so tall.
What follows is finally the familiar plot, randolph finally changed from a bastard that everyone hated to a favorite of everyone? Not. In the Grizzlies' first season, Randolph led the team from 24 wins in the previous season to a 40 win, and although he still could not qualify for the playoffs, he gave a ray of hope. The world's impression of Randolph has changed slightly, but it is still difficult to prevent it, and Randolph, who has ended the regular season, was found to have contraband in his car in May of that year.
The 2010-11 season was the watershed in Randolph's career and the dividing line for wind review reversals. From that season onwards, Randolph's arrival actually changed the temperament of a team. He not only formed a black and white shock alliance with Gasol Jr., but also supplemented by Conley and Tony Allen to form a core foursome, put up a defensive banner, played a unique basketball style, and completed the black eight counterattack Spurs in the playoffs has become a good story for generations.
As a leader, Randolph's performance is obvious to all, and it has made many viewers who sing the Grizzlies and look at Randolph fall through their eyes. At this time, Randolph was no longer Wuxia Amun, and no one dared to look down on him anymore. Grizzlies executives chased Randolph to renew his contract before the series with the Spurs was over. After the playoffs, the Rockets and Cavaliers have made a good calculation of prying corners. The so-called red top white front and back Gong is probably like this, you know, a year ago, Randolph's label was still a thorn and a tumor.
Randolph regained his life, so he stayed in Memphis for 8 years, and in 8 years, he broke into the playoffs seven times, was selected as an All-Star twice, and once made three teams, in addition to honors, and most happy for him was that he regained the support of fans. The tall and mighty big black bear had to mix as much as he wanted to be before, but he didn't know what magic Memphis had cast to make him sentence the two of them. Ibaka had invited Gasol the Great and The Great to be a guest on his blog show, talking about Randolph, and Gasol Jr. said that he looked tall and mighty, but was actually a very nice person, he was always smiling and very pleasing, and the Spanish people liked him very much. Ibaka said that there are many fake tough guys in the league now, such as when he and many big inside players grab rebounds, if he Ibaka has the lead, some opponents will complain to the referee unreasonably in an attempt to get some benefits. But Randolph no, you card slot is good, he will really praise you for your good card. He's not a petty guy.
When Randolph was cut by the Lone Ranger in 2019 and announced his retirement, many fans on social networks, especially in Memphis, expressed their reluctance and told many heart-warming stories about him. At one point, Randolph was warming up when a small fan leaned over and asked if he could get his headband after the game. Randolph said yes. As a result, at the end of the game, Randolph walked straight back to the locker room, and the little fans were disappointed, and suddenly saw Randolph, a big man of more than two meters, trotting all the way back... He kept his promise.
In the Randolph documentary also recorded such a heart-warming clip, Randolph wearing a training suit is sitting on the bench, saw a small fan waving at him, he hurriedly leaned down to sneak over, the small fan pointed to his training jacket, Randolph immediately understood, took off his clothes, and ran back to the bench with a short body, and the little fan who got Randolph's training clothes was already happy.
He was in the final season of his career with the Kings, and whenever he returned to Memphis, the local fans were particularly happy, and they would greet him warmly before the game, shouting his nickname Z-Bo.
Z-Bo, like welcoming a long-overdue child, was already playing in the Kings, and many small Memphis fans wore kings jerseys to ask him to sign autographs or take a group photo. No matter how old or young, they like to hug him affectionately and touch his arm, if Randolph is not too tall, I believe everyone will touch his bald head.
Randolph's achievements may not be the highest in the history of the Grizzlies, but in the hearts of Memphis fans, he is the greatest. You go for a walk, you go to see, no matter what kind of game, as long as Randolph is present, you can definitely see all kinds of "We love Zach" signs, definitely.
He's sponsored too many poor families, he's visited countless communities, he's shook hands and clapped hands with too many people. He has made a total of $200 million in his career, and he has always been committed to giving back to his hometown and community. His kindness and charisma have completely conquered Memphis and Grizzlies fans.
Therefore, we can try to summarize the statement for Randolph in this way - Zachlandov, poor as a child, but loved basketball, with talent and hard work, fortunate to make a living from it, the beginning of his career stumbled for several years, the direction of life has also deviated, but in Memphis lost, on and off the court, ushered in a transformation, for the team and the community have made great dedication and contribution. While maintaining his competitiveness, recognition, ornamentation and enthusiasm for basketball on the court, he has not lost his true disposition and used his own strength to care for social welfare on the road of life, so the dedication of such a flawed but wonderful player and citizen is very worthy of the reward and coronation of such a high-level ceremony, and it is more worthy of people's memory and respect.