MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In theory, everyone came to retire a player’s number.
In reality, they came just as much to retire an era.
No, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Grit N Grind Era didn’t produce a championship, but in the rings-or-bust environment in which 29 teams finish the season unhappy, it’s important to note that it still yielded something tangible and appreciated. That team not only delivered Memphis’ first true moment as a pro sports city, but it was a team whose style was almost uniquely in sync with the locality it represented.
So, when Marc Gasol’s No. 33 went up into the FedExForum rafters on Saturday night, joining Zach Randolph’s No. 50 as the only retired jerseys in franchise history, it became more than a night about one player. That could be felt even in the build-up to the event, including an outstanding 100-minute documentary by Mike Blevins that mostly doubled as a recap of virtually the entire Grit N Grind era, warts and all. (Full disclosure: I was the Grizzlies’ vice president of basketball operations from 2012 to 2019.)
“It’s a blue-collar town, and we were a bunch of blue-collar players,” said Randolph, repeating an oft-remembered line of his to huge applause.
Thus, when Memphis’ “Core Four” — Gasol, Randolph, Mike Conley and Tony Allen — showed up together for the first time since trash-bag day in the spring of 2017, a huge ovation roared from the crowd. Nearly all those fans had stayed in their seats following the undercard of an overmatched eight-man roster’s inevitable 20-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers because the real event was afterward.
The timing couldn’t have been better, with the Grizzlies in the midst of a lost, forgettable “gap year” season that effectively ended with Ja Morant’s shoulder injury in early January. With all due respect to Taylor Jenkins and the leftover Grizzlies players still competing, nobody is all that locked into the present. And with five years under the bridge since the 2019 trades of Gasol and Conley closed the curtain on the Grit ‘N’ Grind Era, it was a perfect time for closure.
Several other mainstays of that Memphis era rolled in as well, including Rudy Gay, Tayshaun Prince, Quincy Pondexter, Darrell Arthur, Mike Miller, Beno Udrih and Jon Leuer. Marc’s brother and former Grizzlies All-Star Pau Gasol was here, too, as well as former coach Dave Joerger. Also, Marc’s former Toronto coach Nick Nurse and teammate Kyle Lowry — now both employed by the Sixers and thus in the building anyway — stuck around rather than immediately zip to the next city for a back-to-back.
(Added Nurse about Gasol, in a moment of levity before the game: “Incredible parade experience by him.” I can assure you the after-party this time was more tame.)
Eventually, Conley’s No. 11 and Tony Allen’s No. 9 will join Gasol’s and Randolph’s in the FedExForum ceiling, with Allen likely on deck given that Conley is still chugging along in Minnesota. Team owner Robert Pera put out statements to that effect when they left the Grizzlies.
But back to Saturday night. Marc Gasol is arguably the most significant player of that era, ranking either first or second on the Grizzlies’ all-time leaderboards in virtually every category and being the only player in franchise history to make first team All-NBA (in 2015). Additionally, his story is rare because of his local origin story, coming here as Pau’s pudgy kid brother before re-emerging from his cocoon in 2008 — after being traded for his brother! — as a full-fledged NBA center. Notably, the Grizzlies theme for the night was “Marc Gasol, Memphis Made.”
memphis made. 33 forever. pic.twitter.com/VtNdoOyFPC
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) April 7, 2024
The Gasol brothers and their families didn’t just dip into town for a night, either. They live in Spain now, with Marc trying to build a basketball team of his own in Girona, but that didn’t stop the whole gang from spending a week…
This article was originally published by a theathletic.com . Read the Original article here. .