Zach Randolph is best remembered for his 8-year run with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2009 to 2017, when he became the leading man during their ‘Grit and Grind’ era.
Randolph was a two-time NBA All-Star and his game was unique and compelling. He was also the ultimate vet in the locker room, as this story by former Grizzlies player DeMarre Carroll revealed.
“My welcome to the NBA moment was when I realized that, ‘Hey man, I’m in the NBA, these guys got money!” Carroll said to Thanasis Antetokounmpo on his podcast. “My big vet. Zach Randolph. The best guy, there’s no fake about him.
“So one day I come in and he was like, ‘Hey, lil bro, come here.’ So I go over and I’m like, ‘Wassup bruh?’ He said, ‘I need you to go get me some white 1s.’ I was like, ‘Which white Air Forces? Aight aight.’ And he pulled out a wad of money. It was like $7000, $8000. I was like, ‘What you need, only one?’ And he was like yeah, ‘Just bring one.’ I said, ‘What’s all this? I don’t need all this.’ He said, ‘Whatever the rest, we’ll figure it out.’
“I’m like, you know, imma be smart, he might be testing me. Let me see. Imma grab about 8 or 10 of ‘em. I brought back the change. I think the change was about $6,000. I was like, ‘Here you go, big bro.’ And he was like, ‘Nah, you keep that. What’s that like, $6,000? Here, add another $4,000, make that $10,000.’ I said, ‘What in the world? Where am I?’”
DeMarre Carroll was drafted into the league in 2009, and that’s when he played alongside Zach Randolph. That was the first year Randolph was in Memphis as well, having been traded there before the 2009-10 season. He became an All-Star that season for the first time, but he had already signed a big deal in 2004 with the Blazers that had seen him earn $84 million. $10,000 surely didn’t seem like that big a deal to him and it seemingly left a big impact on the rookie.
Zach Randolph Signed Another Deal Worth $71 Million In 2011
Despite not being very athletic, Randolph was a strong player, averaging around 20 points and 10 rebounds during his prime. He was a star in the NBA, and he got paid like one too, with the Grizzlies giving him a 4-year extension in 2011 worth $71 million. He had already signed a contract worth $84 million over six years with the Blazers before.
He signed a 2-year, $20 million contract with the Grizzlies after that, and the King also gave him a 2-year, $24 million deal in 2017. So overall, Randolph made close to $200 million in NBA salary in his career. The fact that he was so generous to rookies goes to show that Z-Bo didn’t let the money get to his head either, he never forgot his roots.
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