Steven Adams is now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. While he seems like a perfect fit for the grit and grind mentality they wish to embody over there, he admits there may still be lingering animosity from battles of yesteryear.

The newest Grizzlies big man recently spoke candidly about his possible tarnished reputation in the area.

Via Drew Hill of the Daily Memphian:

“My reputation here is actually not that great I don’t think,” Adams said. “Because Z-Bo (Zach Randolph) punched me in the face as a rookie, and then you guys lost Game 7 because of it — just to bring up some old stuff.”

Here's the play in question during the epic Grizzlies-Thunder battle from the 2014 NBA playoffs:

A clearly agitated Randolph straight up socked a fresh-faced Steven Adams. The hilarious part is that the Kiwi big man barely even flinched, and didn't look at all like he wanted to retaliate against his Grizzlies rival.

“I definitely remember the type of battles (in Memphis), because they had a real gritty team,” he said. “(Oklahoma City) had a gritty team. Memphis had a gritty team. But Memphis has always been known as the Grindhouse, you know what I mean?

“I think I have a good idea (what the culture is like), from playing against it. But I’ll just have to see what it is like when you are a part of it.”

With a new era of grit and grind emerging in Memphis with Ja Morant at the helm, Steven Adams can fix his reputation with Grizzlies fans by being the enforcer they need this season.