Zachary McKenley Randolph (born July 16, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed " Z-Bo", the 2-time NBA All-Star played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans before being drafted in the 2001 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He played for five teams over the course of his professional career, winning the NBA Most Improved Player award with the Portland Trail Blazers and making the All-NBA Third Team in 2011 with the Memphis Grizzlies. He also played with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings before retiring in December 2019. Randolph later planned to come out of retirement in 2020 to join the Big3.
High school career
Randolph grew up in Marion, Indiana, and attended Marion High School,
where his coach was Moe Smedley. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Marion Giants to the 1998
Indiana Class 4A Championship Game. As a senior, he again led his team to the state championship game in which Marion High School won its seventh state basketball championship. He finished second in Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" voting that year behind
Jared Jeffries, who played for the team the Giants beat in the state championship game and would later become Randolph's teammate with the Knicks. During the 2000 McDonald's All-American Game, Randolph was named MVP, finishing with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
College career
After high school, Randolph attended and played basketball for Michigan State University coached by
Tom Izzo. His teammates at MSU included
Jason Richardson and Charlie Bell. In his single season at Michigan State, he averaged 10.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over 33 games, with a team that finished with a 28–5 record and advanced to its third straight NCAA Final Four. After his freshman season, he entered the 2001 NBA draft.
Professional career
Portland Trail Blazers (2001–2007)
He was drafted by the Blazers in the first round (19th overall) in 2001. Continuing on from his college career, he remained in the power forward position. Randolph's tenure on the Trail Blazers proved tumultuous, and included off-court incidents such as being arrested for underage drinking in 2002 and on-court incidents such as punching teammate
Ruben Patterson after arguing with teammate
Qyntel Woods in 2003.
Randolph was not the only member of the Trail Blazers with well-documented outbursts, as the team's reputation as being full of trouble makers was so notable that they were dubbed the
Jail Blazers.
In the 2003 NBA Playoffs, Randolph averaged 13.9 points and 8.7 rebounds in a seven-game series loss to the Dallas Mavericks,
Randolph averaged 23.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in the 2006–07 season, which was cut short in March 2007 due to a hand injury. In what would turn out to be his final game as a Trail Blazer, he accumulated a career high 43 points and 17 rebounds. In his six seasons with Portland, he averaged 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
New York Knicks (2007–2008)
On June 28, 2007, Randolph, along with
Dan Dickau, Fred Jones and the draft rights to
Demetris Nichols, was traded to the New York Knicks in a draft day deal for
Steve Francis,
Channing Frye, and a 2008 2nd round draft pick.
[ Blazers send off Randolph for Channing Frye and Steve Francis updated June 29, 2007] On July 2, 2007, Randolph was introduced at a press conference in New York,
[ Knicks welcome in Randolph, may not be done with moves updated July 2, 2007] where he revealed he would wear the jersey #50. He played 69 games with the Knicks during the 2007–08 season, averaging a double-double, with 17.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Randolph then played only 11 games in New York the next year, before being traded to the Clippers early in the 2008–09 season. In his time in New York, Randolph averaged 18.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2009)
On November 21, 2008, after playing 11 games with the Knicks in the 2008–09 season, Randolph was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with
Mardy Collins in exchange for
Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas.
[ Clippers Acquire Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins From Knicks] During a game against the
Phoenix Suns on February 17, 2009, Randolph was ejected,
[ Suns score 140 as Gentry wins in debut; Randolph tossed for punch. Retrieved on February 18, 2009.] and subsequently suspended two games,
[ Clippers' Randolph suspended two games for punch. Retrieved on February 18, 2009.] for punching
Louis Amundson in the jaw. Randolph finished the 2008–09 season with the Clippers before being traded again. In his 39 games with the Clippers, he averaged 20.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.
Memphis Grizzlies (2009–2017)
On July 17, 2009, he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Quentin Richardson.
[
] Randolph was selected for his first NBA All Star Game in 2010 and helped the Grizzlies improve despite failing to make it to the 2010 playoffs.
The Grizzlies made the playoffs in 2011 as the eighth seed and eliminated the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round, just the second time the eighth seed defeated the first seed since the league expanded to a seven-game first-round series. The series marked the first four wins in franchise playoff history for the Grizzlies and the first time the franchise won a playoff series. In the decisive sixth game, Randolph scored a then playoff career-high 31 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter.
On April 18, 2011, Randolph agreed to a four-year extension with the Grizzlies worth $71 million, with $66 million guaranteed.
Randolph then led the Grizzlies to an opening game win in their second-round playoff series, posting a playoff-career-high 34 points as the Grizzlies defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 114–101;
In 2012, Randolph and the Grizzlies faced the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. The Grizzlies lost the series in seven games.[" Clippers oust Grizzlies, win just their 3rd playoff series in 41 years". Associated Press. ESPN. May 13, 2012. Retrieved on June 25, 2012.]
Randolph was named to his second All-Star game during the 2012–13 season. On May 15, 2013, Randolph helped lead the Grizzlies to victory over Oklahoma City to advance for the first time in franchise history to the Western Conference Finals. In the close out game against the Thunder, Randolph scored a team-high 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
In the Western Conference Finals, the Grizzlies were swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs.
In the 2013–14 season, the Grizzlies finished as the seventh seed in the West. Their first round playoff match-up was once again Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Grizzlies went on to lose the series in seven games. Randolph was suspended for Game 7 after punching Steven Adams in the jaw midway through the fourth quarter of game 6.
On June 30, 2014, Randolph exercised his player option for the 2014–15 season and signed a two-year, $20 million contract extension with the Grizzlies.
On March 19, 2016, Randolph recorded his first career triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 113–102 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.[ Randolph's 1st triple-double leads Grizzlies past] The Grizzlies again qualified for the playoffs in 2016, but were swept out of the first round by the San Antonio Spurs.
On November 2, 2016, in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Randolph passed Pau Gasol (3,324) to become the Grizzlies' all-time leader in made field goals.[ Grizzlies beat winless Pelicans 89–83 in OT][ Zach Randolph Passes Pau Gasol for the Grizzlies Franchise Lead in Made Field Goals] On November 23, 2016, in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Randolph passed Vlade Divac for 46th on the NBA's all-time leading rebounding list.[ Gasol has 26 points, 12 boards to lead Grizzlies past Sixers] becoming the 121st NBA player to reach that mark. He returned to the team to face the Philadelphia 76ers after missing seven games following the death of his mother, Mae, on November 24.[ Zach Randolph gets leave of absence after mom's death] On January 6, 2017, Randolph scored 27 points off the bench in a 128–119 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors. It was his highest total scored off the bench since 2006.[ 27 is the most points Z-Bo has scored off the...] On January 28, 2017, Randolph scored a season-high 28 points in a 102–95 win over the Utah Jazz.[ Randolph, Gasol shine in Grizzlies' 102–95 win over Jazz]
Sacramento Kings (2017–2019)
On July 10, 2017, Randolph signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the
Sacramento Kings.
Prior to Randolph's signing with the Kings, the Grizzlies announced that #50 would never be worn again by another Grizzly, and would eventually be retired in the future.
On December 8, 2017, he recorded a season-high 35 points and 13 rebounds in a 116–109 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He made two of his career-high five 3-pointers to start overtime.
On December 20, 2017, Randolph had 21 points and eight rebounds against the
Brooklyn Nets, surpassing 10,000 career rebounds.
Randolph fell out of the rotation in 2018–19 due to the Kings' youth movement and the arrival of rookie Marvin Bagley III.
Randolph's final NBA game was played on March 19, 2018, in a 90–106 loss to the Detroit Pistons where he recorded 4 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds as the Kings' starting Center.
Retirement
On December 27, 2019, Randolph announced his retirement from professional basketball.
In a ceremony at FedExForum on December 11, 2021, Randolph's #50 jersey was retired by the Memphis Grizzlies, the team with which he enjoyed his greatest success.
It marked the first time the franchise has retired a number.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
| 41 || 0 || 5.8 || .449 || .000 || .667 || 1.7 || .3 || .2 || .1 || 2.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
| 77 || 11 || 16.9 ||
.513 || .000 || .758 || 4.5 || .5 || .5 || .2 || 8.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
|
81 || 80 ||
37.9 || .485 || .200 || .761 || 10.5 || 2.0 || .8 ||
.5 || 20.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
| 46 || 37 || 34.8 || .448 || .000 || .815 || 9.6 || 1.9 || .7 || .4 || 18.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
| 74 || 71 || 34.4 || .436 || .291 || .714 || 8.0 || 1.9 || .8 || .2 || 18.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
| 68 || 67 || 35.7 || .467 || .292 || .819 || 10.1 || 2.2 || .8 || .2 ||
23.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 69 || 68 || 32.5 || .459 || .275 || .772 || 10.3 || 2.0 || .9 || .2 || 17.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|New York
| 11 || 11 || 35.3 || .434 || .292 ||
.821 ||
12.5 || 1.4 ||
1.2 || .3 || 20.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Clippers
| 39 || 34 || 35.1 || .487 || .342 || .701 || 9.4 || 2.3 || .8 || .3 || 20.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
|
81 ||
81 || 37.7 || .488 || .288 || .778 || 11.7 || 1.8 || 1.0 || .4 || 20.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 75 || 74 || 36.3 || .503 || .186 || .758 || 12.2 || 2.2 || .8 || .3 || 20.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 28 || 8 || 26.3 || .463 || .250 || .659 || 8.0 || 1.7 || .8 || .1 || 11.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 76 || 75 || 34.3 || .460 || .087 || .750 || 11.2 || 1.4 || .8 || .4 || 15.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 79 || 79 || 34.2 || .467 || .100 || .742 || 10.1 ||
2.5 || .7 || .3 || 17.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 71 || 71 || 32.5 || .487 ||
.350 || .765 || 10.5 || 2.2 || 1.0 || .2 || 16.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 68 || 53 || 29.6 || .475 || .231 || .796 || 7.8 || 2.1 || .6 || .2 || 15.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 73 || 5 || 24.5 || .449 || .223 || .731 || 8.2 || 1.7 || .5 || .1 || 14.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento
| 59 || 57 || 25.6 || .473 || .347 || .785 || 6.7 || 2.2 || .7 || .2 || 14.5
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 1,116 || 882 || 31.0 || .471 || .273 || .764 || 9.1 || 1.8 || .7 || .3 || 16.6
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|All-Star
| 2 || 0 || 16.0 || .438 || .000 || .000 || 5.5 || 1.0 || 1.0 || .0 || 7.0
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2002
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
| 1 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2003
| style="text-align:left;"|Portland
| 7 || 4 || 29.3 ||
.525 || .000 ||
.892 || 8.7 || 1.6 || .4 || .3 || 13.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2011
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 13 || 13 ||
39.6 || .446 ||
.250 || .821 ||
10.8 ||
2.4 ||
1.1 ||
.8 ||
22.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2012
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 7 || 7 || 35.4 || .420 || .000 || .629 || 9.9 || .9 || 1.0 || .6 || 13.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2013
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
|
15 ||
15 || 36.9 || .460 || .000 || .670 || 10.0 || 1.6 || .7 || .5 || 17.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2014
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 6 || 6 || 39.0 || .404 || .000 || .610 || 8.7 || 2.3 || .8 || .2 || 18.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2015
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 11 || 11 || 34.7 || .423 || .200 || .879 || 8.5 || 2.1 || .5 || .0 || 15.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2016
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 4 || 4 || 30.0 || .371 || .000 || .857 || 8.8 || 1.8 || .3 || .0 || 13.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2017
| style="text-align:left;"|Memphis
| 6 || 4 || 31.8 || .422 || .143 || .727 || 8.2 || .7 || .8 || .3 || 13.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 70 || 64 || 35.0 || .437 || .154 || .750 || 9.3 || 1.7 || .7 || .4 || 16.5
College
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2000–01
| style="text-align:left;"|Michigan State
| 33 || 8 || 19.8 || .587 || .000 || .635 || 6.7 || 1.0 || .7 || .7 || 10.8
See also
-
List of NBA franchise career scoring leaders
-
List of NBA career rebounding leaders
External links
