The Memphis Grizzlies retired this Saturday to the top of the FedEx Forum and for eternity the number ’33’ that he defended for 11 seasons Marc Gasolthe best player in its history.
Gasol wanted a tribute shared with his friends and former colleagues in the Grizzlies Mike Conley, Tony Allen and Zach Randolph, who marked an era with the young franchise and became known as ‘Core 4’.
Conley, Allen, Randolph and Gasol jumped onto the court together when a game between the Grizzlies and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA regular season ended and They sat next to each other in the center of the floor to remember old times.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” assured Conley, the only one still active and who played a game with his Minnesota Timberwolves in Phoenix on Friday.
It was a team famous for its defensive toughness that played ‘grit and grind’, a way of understanding basketball and the life that became the identity of the franchise and the city.
The fans who came to the pavilion today not only took Gasol’s old jerseys out of the closet, but also They dusted off banners and posters from the most glorious era del ‘grit and grind’.
Gasol’s ’33’ joined Randolph’s ’50’ on the roof of the FedEx Forum in Memphis, which was retired in December 2021. The Grizzlies wanted to wait until Gasol left basketball to hang his ’33’, a step he took last January after his last two seasons at Girona.
The entire Gasol family attended the ceremony.also his older brother, Pau, who played for the Grizzlies seven seasons before the Memphis team transferred him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for the rights to Marc.
Between the two they gave the last name “Gasol” in Memphis for 18 consecutive campaignsa true dynasty in a city that became its home.
A visibly excited Marc Gasol took the microphone and, with his wife and daughters at his side, addressed the Memphis fans, many wearing shirts with his name, to thank them for “the constant love” received by the city.
Gasol promised them that even when he left the franchise in 2019 to go to the Toronto Raptors and win his only ring, he took the Grizzlies with him.
to prove it He showed the NBA ring he won in Torontowhich has that Memphis motto of ‘grit and grind’ engraved inside.
“When I achieved the greatest thing in basketball, which is winning an NBA ring, There were these guys who mean so much to me.“said Marc, speaking of Allen, Conley and Randolph, before the explosion of the FedEx Forum.
Everyone in Memphis seems to remember that 2012-2013 season, in which The ‘grit and grind’ Grizzlies were closest to the ring, reaching the Western Conference Final. That year the NBA selected Marc as the league’s Best Defenseman.
After playing an emotional five-minute video on the pavilion screens and Gasol addressed the fans, the ceremony entered its climax.
With smoke, music and fire, a gigantic number with the ‘Gasol 33’ appeared on the court next to the player and began to rise towards the ceiling under the gaze of the center from Sant Boi de Llobregat. It was the moment that everyone who had gone to the game to remember past and better times had been waiting for.
Starting this April 6, 2024, No one else in Grizzlies history will be able to wear ’33’which from today belongs, forever, to Marc Gasol.
2024-04-07 05:36:01
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