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Marc Gasol's celebration became a salute to the Memphis Grizzlies' Core Four | Giannotto
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- Marc Gasol's celebration became a salute to the Memphis Grizzlies' Core Four | Giannotto
Marc Gasol's No. 33 Memphis Grizzlies jersey rose slowly into the air inside FedExForum, and Mike Conley had his phone out recording it all.
He doesn't usually do this sort of thing, Conley would explain later. But he also doesn't usually do what he did to be in Memphis on Saturday, for a night that was billed as a celebration of one player and became just as much about a reunion for four players.
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Conley had played for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, then hopped on a plane and arrived in Memphis at around 6 p.m. He went to a hotel, changed his clothes, grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to FedExForum. As he laid out this itinerary, a plane was waiting to fly through the night to Los Angeles , where Conley planned to be at the Timberwolves' Sunday morning shootaround ahead of a game against the Lakers .
So there he was on stage, sitting next to Zach Randolph and Tony Allen , holding his phone in the air like the thousands of Grizzlies fans who stuck around after a 116-96 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers that became an afterthought with so much of this franchise's history together once more.
"I wanted this memory to last me when I can't remember anymore," Conley said.
What an unforgettable event it became, perhaps even more so than anyone anticipated during the months-long build-up. A ceremony designed to honor Gasol also became a vessel for Memphis to finally salute the team that forged the Grit and Grind bond between the Grizzlies and this city that still lives on today. It was as Gasol would have wanted it, passing off the spotlight to his teammates like he so often passed them the ball, right down to the way they were introduced to begin the festivities.
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The four of them – Randolph, Allen, Conley and Gasol – stood together in the tunnel leading to the FedExForum court for the first time since the last game they wore a Grizzlies uniform in 2017. The place roared like it was one of those playoff series with the Spurs or Clippers again as they walked out one-by-one.
"I was ready to suit up and get 10 rebounds," Randolph said of that goosebump-inducing moment.
This was different than when Z-Bo became the first Grizzlies player to have his number retired in December 2021, when Gasol was the Core Four member hopping on a red-eye flight from Spain in order to be there after playing in a game.
Whereas Randolph's bash was a tribute to the brute force that helped the Grizzlies break through as a team and an organization, this felt like a Grizzlies history lesson because Gasol's ties to this city and this organization run deeper than any other player.
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There were so many interwoven storylines inside FedExForum on Saturday, aside from just the Core Four's first get together in seven years.
There was Pau Gasol and the entire Gasol clan, almost a quarter-century after Pau became the first face of this franchise, only to then be traded in a deal that included Marc – a transaction that becomes all the more remarkable now that Pau is a Hall of Famer and Marc is likely not far behind him.
Former Grizzlies player Marc Gasol embraces his brother Pau Gasol after Marc Gasol’s jersey retirement ceremony at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, April 6, 2024.
After a week spent back in Memphis, Pau noted he and Marc discussed making this a yearly pilgrimage because of how important the city is to their family.
"Everything worked out in a very special way," Pau said.
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But they weren't the only ones here. Rudy Gay showed up. So did Mike Miller , Tayshaun Prince , Beno Udrih , Quincy Pondexter , Darrell Arthur and Jon Leuer . Kyle Lowry , now playing for the 76ers, stuck around for the postgame ceremony, too. It made for a surreal scene afterwards, as players from different iterations of the Grizzlies mingled in the same frame again.
They were all there for the figure who binds all of them.
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It seemed so appropriate – so right – that it was Gasol who prompted the first chance to really coronate the Core Four. That his jersey retirement night was mostly about the journey they took as a group. He was here before all of them, as a fan transplanted to a new city because his brother was on the team, and then as a player who emerged as a franchise pillar. He played more minutes for the Grizzlies than any of them, and man was it good for the soul to see them all together again.
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"Y'all have no idea what it's like to be around these guys," Conley said at one point, as the four reminisced on the microphone.
Former Grizzlies players Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, known as the “Core Four,” pose for a photo after the jersey retirement ceremony for Gasol at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, April 6, 2024.
They spoke about the postseason runs, and how Allen could drive them all crazy, and when Conley knew it was time to get the ball to Gasol ("He'd start looking at me funny and speaking in Spanish."). They knew now, perhaps more than ever, what they inspired in this city.
But Saturday was its most poignant as they discussed what they meant to one another, about what it was like to have each other by their side on the court, even when they weren't.
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"When I was able to accomplish the biggest goal as a basketball player and win an NBA (championship) ring ," Gasol told the crowd right before his No. 33 jersey emerged from a haze of smoke, "these three guys that meant so much to me along the way were right there with me."
That's why Conley flew through two time zones in the middle of a playoff race to be there. That's why, well after midnight, Gasol stood on the court at FedExForum with Allen and former Grizzlies assistant Jason March shooting the breeze about all the games and days gone by, as their kids played basketball on the court they once did.
That's why this night will live on with all the rest of those memories the Core Four made in Memphis.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on X: @mgiannotto
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Marc Gasol jersey retirement became Grizzlies' Core Four reunion
