First shirt in the rafters in FedExForum. i expect TA's to follow.
Never forget beating the Spurs
EVERY crazy Clippers playoff series
THE Triple over-time game against the Thunder (You know which one).
Christmas
(Sidenote: the Grizz/Thunder rivalry was such an underrated narrative. Two young, small market teams on opposite ends of almost every spectrum. Half those games could go down as classics)

Grizzlies retiring Zach Randolph's No. 50 after eight seasons in Memphis
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19866061/memphis-grizzlies-retiring-zach-randolph-no-50

No player will ever wear Zach Randolph's No. 50 for the Memphis Grizzlies, the franchise announced Thursday.

The Grizzlies made the declaration in an open letter to Randolph that was signed by general manager Chris Wallace and president of business operations Jason Wexler.

Randolph's eight-year tenure in Memphis ended Tuesday when he agreed to a two-year, $24 million deal with the Sacramento Kings, a decision made after the Grizzlies declined to make a competitive offer, according to sources.

"Thank you for all the joy and magical moments too numerous to count," the letter read in part. "Thank you for the energy and excitement you brought each and every night to FedExForum. Thank you for your leadership and service. Thank you for your larger than life impact and for keeping all Memphians warm. Thank you.

"While there will be a time and place to recognize your lasting impact in Memphis, starting today, as stated earlier by Controlling Owner, Robert Pera, number 50 will never be worn by any other member of the Memphis Grizzlies."

Randolph, who will turn 36 on July 16, established himself as a local legend over the past eight seasons in Memphis, a city that embraced him for his rugged playing style and for overcoming a rough upbringing. He has played a critical role in the Grizzlies' seven straight playoff appearances and ranks first in franchise history in rebounds (5,612) and third behind Mike Conley and Marc Gasol in points (9,261).

A two-time All-Star and 16-year NBA veteran, Randolph accepted a transition to sixth man last season and excelled in his reserve role. He averaged 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game. His 20 double-doubles were the most by any bench player in the league.

Those statistics were down from Randolph's career averages (16.8 PPG, 9.3 RPG), but his per-36-minute scoring and rebounding numbers were the best of his Memphis tenure.

Many Grizzlies fans honored the player known as "Z-Bo" this week by making donations in his name to pay utility bills for underprivileged families. Randolph has donated $20,000 annually for several years to the cause, one of many ways he gave back to the Memphis community.

"Zach helped establish what it means to play for the Grizzlies on the court and in the community, and in doing so helped forge an identity for our City," the open letter read. "His numerous on the court accomplishments speak for themselves. He is our all-time leader in field goals, rebounds and of course, takedowns.

"He is a proud civic leader and an extraordinary hands-on community benefactor. It is no coincidence that our collective dedication to service in our communities and our pride in Memphis surged during his time here."

Tony Allen, I dunno, I mean it would be kinda funny to retire 3-4 jerseys from an era where they never got past the second round

That's the mount rushmore out here

i mean, just watching Tony completely SHUT DOWN superstars, especially in the playoffs especially circa 2011-2013

He played for seven years and was their first star. Why wouldn't they consider retiring his number? People are talking about them retiring Tony Allen's number in here. Who had a bigger impact on the franchise?

they not retiring his

He's the only HOF'er to ever play for the franchise and they are going to get hung up on the fact that their team was not able to reach the rarefied air that is the second round? WGAF?

he doesn't have a single memorable moment of his career to point to that took place in memphis. not a one

Beating an injured San Antonio team in the first round? Some epic battles with other also-rans like the Clippers?

Pau was the best player they ever had. In seven seasons he was almost as productive as his brother was in nine. He was the first all-star. He did not part on bad terms or anything, in fact he delivered them another star. I'm not seeing why they would not retire the number a HOF'er who played about half his career there.

>Beating an injured San Antonio team in the first round? Some
>epic battles with other also-rans like the Clippers?
>
>Pau was the best player they ever had. In seven seasons he was
>almost as productive as his brother was in nine. He was the
>first all-star. He did not part on bad terms or anything, in
>fact he delivered them another star. I'm not seeing why they
>would not retire the number a HOF'er who played about half
>his career there.

I 100% get what you are saying as far as Pau being able to get his jersey retired. I personally hope he does based on your facts as far as his numbers so I'm not about to argue that. But his exit was rocky and left a bad taste in the city's and the franchise's mouth. Became a bit of a prima donna and a cry baby and it rubbed everyone the wrong way. We wanted him to be a leader, but he was a reluctant one. Memphis wanted Pau to win, but he didn't want to win in Memphis.

certainly there have been less amicable partings (e.g. melo, deron, even AI).

Mike, Marc, Tony, and Zach will all have their numbers up in our rafters. They are LEGENDS here. Mark my words.

Pau might go up. Thats possible. Rudy might go up, probably not. But i can tell you today, July 7, 2017, 50, 11, 33, and 9 will never be worn again on this team. Ask anybody from Memphis.

Memphis' relationship with Pau was absolutely not deep. It only extended to basketball. These guys are part of the community, ESPECIALLY Zach.

Slightly surprised at Tony Allen but I do know how much love the fan base and organization have for him. Not disputing them other guys but yes I think they should retire Pau's number, seems like a no-brainer.

>He played for seven years and was their first star. Why
>wouldn't they consider retiring his number? People are talking
>about them retiring Tony Allen's number in here. Who had a
>bigger impact on the franchise?

To a point TA has had the bigger impact. Yeah Pau got us to the playoffs and we had a player to watch, but he could never get us a win in game and over time he was just going through the motions of playing here. Whereas Allen gave us an identity and was one of the catalysts for us having (mild) playoff success. Unrelated though, TA has had a MUCH bigger impact in the city, but as I know that has nothing to do with the franchise though. And like Hardware said, you gotta live here to understand.

But to retire his and not Pau's makes little if any sense. Allen and ZBo were big factors in shaping their identity, sure, but Pau is a HOF'er and the franchise's first real star, especially as the Memphis incarnation of the Grizz goes. I really don't understand how years of being above average somehow venerates all these guys above a HOF'er. I get that interest in the team went way up and they became the kind of hard-nosed teams fans in the area like (Preds were similar for years) and all that, but I don't see the argument against retiring Pau's number.

Players get their numbers retired when they mean something to a fanbase. like REALLY mean something.

Pau never did that for the fans. Pau never connected with the city. Pau didnt look like Memphis. Pau didnt act like Memphis. It never really felt like Pau wanted to play here and thats a big deal for a young, small market team with no flash and no expectation of success. Back then the Memphis Tigers could walk into any restaurant and they'd get a ticker tape parade, but a Grizz player may as well have been a panhandler. That didn't change with Pau. Pau was a great player, but he was just that. These guys get on ESPN and represent the CITY, not just the Grizzlies. They're the one constant out of these 8 years, 3 coaches, and about 70 other players.

To 98% of us TA is the one that brought the identity to the Grizzlies. We like the defense, you'd come down here and you can see us get hype for every steal, broken play, and every 7-foot superstar that cant manage to find a pass around a guy thats 6'9 and in his 30's. We couldn't hit from outside, but Mike and Tony were gonna make sure you had to play in the Mississippi mud with Zach and Marc.

First Team

Pau aint have no airbrushed bootleg tshirts. Pau ain't pay electric bills. He scored some points. But i can remember more fun losses with Tony than i can exciting wins with Pau.

what you are saying isn't really accurate, tony allen could have the same career in most places and they wouldn't even consider retiring his number, but going beyond that it varies widely from franchise to franchise, even similar franchises.

look at the lakers and the celtics. the lakers basically say if you make the HOF and were a great player for us, too, we will retire your number. short of that, you're out of luck. so think of tony allen as michael cooper, no retirement. but then the celtics, who have been even more successful, might be looking at triple digits soon. they retired guys like cornbread maxwell's number, shit had allen played his whole career they might have retired his, too.

some franchises do a big ring of honor or they retire a lot of numbers despite not being terribly successful. like the cavs have half a dozen retired numbers (they did something similar to this grizz move retiring nance, price and daugherty. others, like the clippers/braves franchise, have none at all.

The franchise itself has a criteria and it was met with the core 4. If they dont put a 9 up there, people will def ask some questions

grit and grind a good building block.

We got swept so, meh, same difference lol

kinda like bomb forgetting about the flyers' sweep at the hands of the penguins. it happened pretty fast. i like this grizz team though, other than that they always stretched out series and won where they had a chance.

Gary Parrish is wild, for this...
https://twitter.com/GaryParrishCBS/status/883002892315131904/photo/1

why so soon?

he was getting it retired anyway, but given what he meant to the city and with the town eulogizing the grit n grind era, its the perfect time to announce it.

https://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/ep1205_08.jpg