Zach Randolph took a while to think about it. What did he remember about his first NBA preseason game?

In 2001, he was a first-round pick with the Portland Trail Blazers. His opponent? The Memphis Grizzlies, playing their first game in Memphis after relocating from Vancouver.

“I remember how talented Pau (Gasol) was and how long he was,” Randolph said of his fellow rookie. “I wanted to get in and face him so bad and compete with him.”

He couldn't have known then, but he faced the team that would redefine Randolph’s career and life. The first matchup with Gasol foreshadowed how he and another Gasol — Pau’s brother Marc — would team up to take the Grizzlies to their greatest heights in franchise history.

Randolph’s No. 50 will be the first jersey retired in franchise history on Saturday at FedExForum. The ceremony, which will be after the Grizzlies host the Rockets (7 p.m., Bally Sports Southeast), will celebrate the player who defined the “Grit and Grind” era for eight seasons.

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He called it a dream come true because Memphis chose to embrace him eight years into his career. And he embraced them back with his charity as much as his on-court exploits.

“It’s going to be a lot of emotions because, you know, to add your name up there it really means something,” said Randolph. “When you really know that you put in from the heart and you left it out there, it’s more than just basketball. It’s got a lot to do with the heart and just being part of the city.”

The relation began before Randolph was traded to Memphis in 2009 for Quentin Richardson. Randolph’s father was from Memphis, so he often saw relatives and friends and kept up those connections on road trips.

He also saw similarities with Memphis and his hometown of Marion, Indiana, with how some people struggled to make ends meet. Randolph could relate to growing up with a single mom who was on welfare at one point. He saw friends make wrong decisions in life as he became a McDonald’s All-American and state champion as a high school senior.

He never saw an NBA player reach out to do community work in his neighborhood, so he wanted to be a bigger presence in Memphis than just a player.

“It reminds me of where I come from and reminds me of home,” Randolph said. “Coming through all the struggles, being knocked down, coming from a single-parent home, (Memphis) reminded me of my stomping grounds, my roots.”

He also saw a city that didn’t judge him for his past. Randolph won Most Improved Player in 2004 and averaging 20.2 points and 9.6 rebounds in his final four seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, but he carried a stigma from being associated with a team that often got caught up with legal troubles.

He was also traded twice to the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. But in Memphis, Randolph saw a chance for a fresh start because, like him, people in the city felt misunderstood and mislabeled.

“People don’t know, they’re going to judge you, especially when you’re in this light as an athlete. People don’t really know you as a person but here in the city, it’s different,” Randolph said. “I got a chance to touch people, I’m not a private person. I’m going to the rough neighborhoods where people don’t want to go to give back and talk to the kids, I’m going to do that and people see that.”

For the first time in his career, Randolph felt home. As he became a two-time All-Star and the Grizzlies’ first All-NBA selection, so did his community work. He paid utility bills for families, hosted giveaways during the holidays and invested in the city’s hip-hop scene, to name a few.

To him, those moments mean as much as helping the Grizzlies upset the No. 1 seed San Antonio Spurs in the 2011 playoffs or reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2013.

“All those things I’ll always remember in my career as well as how the city embraced me. It all goes into one,” Randolph said.

On Saturday, he’ll reflect on memories shared with fellow “Core Four” teammates Marc Gasol, Tony Allen and Mike Conley. But when his jersey is raised, Randolph won’t just think about basketball or that first game in Memphis 20 years ago measuring up against Pau Gasol.

He’ll appreciate a city that made him feel welcomed, gave him a fresh start and allowed him to return the love even more.

“It’s forever home," Randolph said. "This is my city and I love the people in this city."

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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: For Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies jersey retirement is everything