For many American boys from poor families, playing in the NBA is a good opportunity to change their destiny. Many people have changed their status quo by playing in the NBA, but there are also many players who did not change their habits in the end and were eliminated by the NBA. , therefore, it is rare for a player to really turn around in the NBA. The protagonist of this article, Zach Randolph, , is one of the few players to turn around in the NBA. Let’s talk about Zach Randolph and him NBA career.
A "fat man with flexibility but softness", a man who has completed his transformation
Randolph is 2.06 meters tall. He is not very tall in the paint. In terms of talent, Randolph is not a flying monster who is good at jumping. His bounce is average, and his bounce speed is not very fast. This kind of athletic ability determines Randolph's playing style. He can't fly around and can only do something on the ground.
Randolph has a stocky physique and is full of muscles. Coupled with not too much and not too much fat, Randolph is very strong in confrontation and has a solid chassis. When he gets to the basket, he can not only withstand the opponent's hard attack, but also be able to push forward against the opponent. His playing style is very He is fierce, but Randolph is a player who is both strong and soft. After a tough confrontation with his opponent, he can maintain his center of gravity and complete a smooth turn. He is also good at leveraging his strength to win. 2+1, But the softest thing about Randolph is his touch. When shooting for a layup, Randolph's hand gently slid over the basketball, and the ball flew directly into the basket. Among big players, this is It is a rare talent, and it is precisely because of this talent that Randolph is so powerful on the offensive end.
When attacking, Randolph often catches the ball in the low post. After getting the ball, he will fight against the opponent first, and then, Looking for an opportunity, he rushed in one direction. When the opponent blocked the route, Randolph turned around smoothly and squeezed the opponent beside him. He hooked his little hand and put the ball in. In addition, Randolph There are also many small skills, such as continuously feinting with the ball. When encountering a double-team, Randolph is very agile and will quickly use a step or step up to get rid of the opponent before he is caught by the opponent. Double-team, attack the basket directly, and put the ball in.
In addition to playing in the low post, Randolph also has shooting ability. In the mid-range, his mid-range shot is very accurate, and the opponent must pay attention to it, which allows him to get out of the basket. is outside the three-point line. Although Randolph doesn't shoot many, he is capable of three-pointers and can occasionally score a few. But because Randolph did not advocate shooting three-pointers from inside when he was playing, Randolph's three-point shooting ability was not explored.
When defending, Randolph's one-on-one defensive ability is not top-notch. , But his strong body and active defensive willingness allow him to perfectly integrate into the team's defensive system, covering up his weaknesses, giving full play to his advantages in confrontation, so during the Grizzlies period, Randolph's defense was Very good. Randolph made some achievements early in his career, but it was in the Grizzlies that he really gained recognition and applause. Before that, Randolph was a "bad boy" that was not recognized by people.
Randolph was born in a poor family with four children, all of whom were raised by his mother, Mei Ai. Mei Ai ran around for a living and did not discipline her children much. The already lively Randolph and the gangsters on the street After fighting together, they gradually went astray. One year, in order to change a pair of trousers, Randolph decided to steal a pair, but was discovered. After staying in the juvenile reformatory for 30 days, Randolph returned home. During this period, Mei Ai kept secrets about Randolph's future. After careful consideration, he decided to send his son to play basketball as he did not want his son to embark on the road of crime. In this way, Randolph embarked on the road of basketball. On the basketball court, Randolph found happiness. He quickly stood out among a group of children, participated in the draft, was selected by the Trail Blazers , and successfully landed in the NBA.
In the NBA, Randolph's skills are getting better and better, but his bad temper and bad style have not changed. He got into fights during training and was found by the police carrying contraband outside the court. News about Randolph , there are a lot of negative news. Over the past few years, Randolph has become a thorn in the side that no one is willing to take over, and his market price in the free market is not high. At this time, the Grizzlies traded Randolph , and it is miraculous to say that in the Grizzlies, Randolph changed himself. His violent temper became much less severe, and his connection with contraband was much less. From a prickly head that no one wanted, he turned into a gray bear. The leader of the Bears, this big man has completed his transformation.
After turning from a "bad boy" to a grown man, Randolph began to give back to the Memphis community, doing various charity activities, helping people, and gaining people's recognition and respect. This made Randolph's NBA career more successful. A dazzling light, let’s talk about Randolph’s NBA career.
had been dormant for a year, but in the playoffs became a blockbuster.
Randolph was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 19th pick in the 2001 draft. Because there was no shortage of inside players in the team, the 20-year-old Randolph mainly played in his rookie season. Even if he is sitting on the bench, there are not many opportunities, but in addition to the game, there is also team training. In the training, Randolph's performance is still very good, which made the Blazers coach decide to play Randolph in his second season. At that time, he was given more opportunities, and Randolph also deserved the coach's trust and did not waste the opportunity, joining the team in the 2003 playoffs.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Trail Blazers played against the Mavericks. In the first three games of the series, the coach did not dare to use Randolph as the main force. He still had concerns, but the team lost three games in a row and fell into passivity. This made the coach Putting down the burden, Randolph was given more opportunities in the fourth game. Faced with this opportunity to express himself, Randolph decisively seized it. played 41 minutes in the fourth game, scoring 25 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block, leading the team to a victory over the opponent. In the fifth game, Randolph contributed 22 points and 9 rebounds, and the Trail Blazers won another game, sixth. In the game, Randolph contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists in 34 minutes, helping the team equalize the score and drag the series into a tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker, Randolph performed well, contributing 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. However, unfortunately, the Trail Blazers still lost to their opponents due to insufficient overall strength and stopped in the first round. Although the Trail Blazers lost, Randolph's wonderful performance attracted people's attention and attention. Randolph immediately became the team's inside core.
03-04 season, Randolph started 80 games, averaged 37.9 minutes per game, and averaged 20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Randolph, who got enough opportunities, showed his personal abilities, and this year , Randolph is only 22 years old, and his potential is great. Relying on his strength, Randolph made people known, but at the same time, his fiery temper and bad style also made people known. Just before the 03-04 season, he had an affair with the team's big villain Ruben Patterson The fight started and Patterson punched him in the face until Patterson couldn't fight back. This fight made many fans think that Randolph was a hot-tempered and hands-on person. In fact, this was indeed the case. , but the Trail Blazers saw that Randolph was very capable, so they did not give up on him and allowed Randolph to continue fighting.
html In the 006-07 season, Randolph averaged 23.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. His performance was very good. However, the Blazers did not dare to keep him. The reason was that there were too many negative news about Randolph. The Blazers will Randolph stocked the shelves. The Knicks thought Randolph was good, so they traded Randolph over. Randolph's Trail Blazers career was over.His style has not changed and he is on the verge of being eliminated.
After coming to the Knicks, Randolph's performance was still good. He was still the little bully in the paint. However, Randolph's style has not changed at all, and his temper has not changed at all. Still so popular, still has a lot of negative news. He also had a conflict with his teammates during the game, which made everyone watch.Although the Knicks are not strong and do not have high performance requirements, they do not want to have a bomb in the team that will explode at any time. Therefore, Randolph did not play long in the Knicks, playing in a total of 80 games. After the game, the Knicks took advantage of the opportunity and quickly sent Randolph to the Clippers.
In the Clippers, Randolph was in the same state as in the Knicks, which made the Clippers very distressed. At this time, the Grizzlies were very interested in Randolph and hoped to trade him. and Gasol formed the twin towers inside and led the Grizzlies to rise. After had the idea, the Grizzlies discussed the deal with the Clippers. In the end, the Grizzlies traded Richardson for Randolph. Aren't the Grizzlies afraid that Randolph will mess up the team after he comes? The Grizzlies are also afraid, and they have thought of the worst-case scenario, but they still believe that Randolph can complete a qualitative change in the Grizzlies and become a leader who helps the team win.
helped the team rise, and his jersey was retired by the team.
In his first season with the Grizzlies, Randolph performed very well. His ability is still very strong, and his temper has also become somewhat restrained. He began to changed. In the 10-11 season, Randolph performed better and had a better chemical reaction with his teammates. He helped the team enter the playoffs and faced Spurs in the first round. This was a playoff matchup between the eighth in the Western Conference and the first in the Western Conference. Many fans thought that the Spurs would win the game easily. However, when the game started, people discovered that the situation was not good for the Spurs and they could not restrict Randolph.
In the first game of the series, Randolph scored 25 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, helping the team win a 3-point victory and get a good start. In the third game, Randolph contributed 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, assisting the ball. The team won another game. In the fourth game, the Grizzlies took advantage of the situation to defeat their opponents and got the match point. The Spurs won the fifth game. Randolph contributed 31 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in the sixth game. Led the team to win the game, "Black Eight" Spurs.
In the second round, facing Thunder , Randolph still played very comfortably. In the first game, he scored 34 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, helping the team win. In the third game, Randolph scored 21 points and 21 rebounds. 2 assists and 1 block helped the team regain the big score advantage. In the fourth game of , Randolph scored 31 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He hoped to help the team get the match point, but unfortunately, the Grizzlies Finally lost. Battle of Tianwangshan , the Grizzlies team was in poor condition and lost miserably to their opponents. In Game 6, Randolph took the lead, scoring 30 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks to help the team easily defeat their opponents and drag the series into a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Randolph performed very actively, contributing 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. However, there was still a gap in the team's strength. The Grizzlies lost to the Thunder and stopped in the second round.
Only reached the second round, which is not a very good performance. However, the Grizzlies' "Black Eight" Spurs incident is worth remembering, especially when Randolph faced the Spurs inside line led by Duncan . The dominant performance earned Duncan, Popovich, and others all respect him.
html In the 012-13 season, the Grizzlies once again entered the playoffs. In the first round, they faced the Clippers, who eliminated them last season. This time, Randolph worked 100% with the goal of revenge. In the two games, Randolph failed to get the space to show his abilities, and the Grizzlies lost two games in a row. In the third game, Randolph scored 27 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, helping the team easily defeat the opponent. In the fourth game, Randolph contributed 24 points, 9 assists and 1 block. The team won. In the battle of Tianwang Mountain, Randolph scored 25 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. The Grizzlies easily defeated the Clippers and got the match point. , in the sixth game, the Clippers counterattacked, but Randolph did not give them this opportunity. He made 8 of 12 shots in 34 minutes, scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, giving the team the lead and steadily Leading to the end, defeating his opponent, and successfully taking revenge, Jordan, who was so powerful in front of him last year, left the game in disgrace.
In the second round, the Grizzlies met the Thunder. This time, the Grizzlies took the initiative. After losing the first game, Randolph contributed 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block in the second game, helping the team. Win, in the third game, Randolph contributed 8 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists. In the fourth game, Randolph scored 23 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. The Grizzlies got the match point. Game 5 , the Thunder tried to counterattack, but Randolph stepped forward and scored 28 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. The Grizzlies won by 4 points. finally defeated the Thunder with a big score of 4-1 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals to face the Spurs. .
This time the Spurs faced Randolph, but they worked hard to defend him, and the effect was indeed good. When Randolph did not play the "black eight" Spurs, with that dominance, the Grizzlies were eventually swept by the Spurs and missed the chance. finals.
reached the Western Conference Finals, which was the most glorious era for the Grizzlies in the "Black and White Bears" era. They conquered the fans with their tenacious style of play and gained recognition. With the changes of the times, the "Black and White Bears" age With the increase in basketball, the Grizzlies were not as strong as before. Randolph played with the Grizzlies until the 16-17 season. At the end of the season, he went to the Kings. He played his last season with the Kings and then announced his retirement.
After learning about Randolph's retirement, the Grizzlies stated that the team would retire Randolph's jersey. On December 12, 2021, the Grizzlies held a jersey retirement ceremony for Randolph. Randolph's No. 50 jersey Flying over the Grizzlies Arena.
written at the end
After retiring, Randolph lived his own life. He had completely gotten rid of his past bad habits. He participated in some programs from time to time to share past stories and his own opinions. Although he once wandered around the world and left a bad reputation, But today Randolph deserves people's respect, and I wish Randolph a happy life.
