Before the ceremony, there was some truth-telling. Zach Randolph was asked what he thought back when he was first traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

“Man,” he said. “I was like, ‘S---.’ ”

So that is how this love affair started. 

The ending was a night Memphians will never forget.

A night that brought Marc Gasol, Al Kapone, the Bongo Lady, Lionel Hollins, Robert Pera, Bonzi Wells, DJ Paul and Chris Wallace together in one place.

A night that inspired Tom Izzo, Yo Gotti, Mike Conley, Peyton Manning, Chris Paul, Nate McMillan, Matt Barnes and Moneybagg Yo to send their warm thoughts.

A night that ended with Randolph rising from the throne — yes, the throne — where he had been sitting, to watch as his number was formally retired, as 17,794 Memphians joyously sang along to “Whoop That Trick.”

What, you were expecting some run-of-the mill jersey retirement ceremony? Some fussy recitation of statistics and awards?

No.

This was a raucous celebration of a man as authentic and unbridled as the city where he finally found a home. 

It was as Memphis as Zach.

“There’s no greater feeling, tonight is more than basketball,” Randolph said. “And it’s more than basketball with this city and me.”

It’s impossible to explain how little the Grizzlies mattered to Memphis before Randolph came to town. And it’s impossible to explain how little Memphians thought of themselves.

This is a city where people resisted bringing the Grizzlies from Vancouver in the first place because — this was the actual logic — they just knew that the team would up and move within five years.

So in came Z-Bo, who was essentially given away by the Clippers, and during the next seven years, everything changed.

The notion of Memphis as a place of grit-and-grind would not exist if not for Randolph.

Neither would the phrase “We don’t bluff.”

Growl Towels would not hang all over town if not for Randolph.

Memphians would not be so unrelentingly proud of the 901.

It started with basketball, certainly. But it was more than that. Randolph had a way of connecting with people — as former GM Chris Wallace phrased it — “from Orange Mound to Temple Israel, from Southaven to Southwind.”

At one of the quarter breaks Saturday, Rob Fischer prepared to interview Randolph on the Grizzlies TV broadcast. But before he did, he asked a friend to snap a photo of the event. Fischer interviews all kinds of famous people. Why did he want a photo of this particular interview?

“Because every time I saw Z-Bo, he asked me about my daughter,” Fischer said. “He cares about everybody from the moment he steps out of the locker room to the moment he steps on the floor.”

As my colleague Chris Herrington put it, Randolph was a perfect fit for Memphis not just because Memphians could see themselves in Randolph, but because he could see himself in them.

Saturday’s ceremony was a celebration of that symmetry. It was a celebration of Randolph, and of a glorious moment in civic history, and of who we are.

The Grizzlies brought back “Zach Randolph’s deep thoughts” for the occasion. In which Randolph ponders such questions as: “If your shirt is not tucked into your pants, then are your pants tucked into your shirt?”

The Grizzlies unleashed the Bongo Lady on the big screen for the first time in years.

Oh, and Chris Paul was nice enough to send a video tribute, and I would tell you exactly what he said, but the tribute was (hilariously) drowned out by boos. 

The night wasn’t just an homage to the past. It was a pitch-perfect plunge into the past, into that remarkable stretch of time that altered how we feel about the franchise and ourselves. 

And then, when the game ended — the Grizzlies defeating Houston, 113-106 — a throne was brought out. Because, really, why the hell not?

Hollins emerged to pay tribute to Z-Bo. Even though Hollins had been cast aside by the Grizzlies organization years ago.

Gasol emerged to pay tribute to Z-Bo. Even though he had to fly over from Spain.

“That really messed me up,” said Randolph, and believe me, he is not the only one.

The climax was as it should have been. With the fans singing along to “Whoop That Trick.” No solemn orchestral music to retire this number. Instead, a recreation of maybe the loudest night in Grizzlies history, when Z-Bo and the Grizzlies defeated the Clippers in Game 6. All that was missing was Blake Griffin. But, honestly, he wasn’t missed.

This night was about Memphis, not its opponents. It was about the good stuff, not the bad. It was about someone who wasn’t quite sure what he was getting into when he arrived in the city, but resolved to make the best of it. 

Does that sound familiar to any of you?

Randolph wasn’t exactly thrilled when he was traded to Memphis. 

“I didn’t feel appreciated, I felt given away,” he said. “But I was going to go in there with the right attitude and try to change the narrative.”

And that’s exactly what Randolph did. He changed the narrative for himself and for the city. That doesn’t just make him the perfect first Grizzly to have his number retired. It makes him just about the perfect Memphian. 

So congratulations, Z-Bo. And congratulations to us, too.

“I’m going to be part of this city forever,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade it for nothing in the world.”