Link did not know whether the three years he had planned would pass quickly, but it was an indisputable fact that this offseason had flown by.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Link had returned to FedExForum.
It felt as though it had only been yesterday that he had scored consecutively here to crush the Cavaliers, watched Silver force an awkward laugh here, and been hoisted onto the scorer's table by his teammates here.
But in truth, nearly half a year had already passed since that summer when the Grizzlies won the championship.
By now, a fourth championship banner had been raised beneath the dome of FedExForum.
Before the regular-season opener began, Link also received his fourth championship ring.
That group of young guys led by Jokic was especially excited, because Link had once told them that they would have rings of their own too.
Now, that promise had finally come true.
Besides the young guys like Jokic, some old hands were also beside themselves with excitement.
Nash, who no longer served as the Grizzlies' player development consultant, had also been specially invited to the event.
The moment he received his championship ring, Nash could not stop himself from shedding tears on the court.
From Dallas to Phoenix, then to Los Angeles, Nash had spent nearly twenty years chasing this very thing.
He just had not expected that his dream would finally come true in Memphis.
The championship ring ceremony served as a summary of the Grizzlies' outstanding performance last season.
Of course, what the fans cared about even more was the future.
Could Link build a second dynasty? Could he continue to dominate the league?
Could he even surpass Jordan!?
The truth of those answers was drawing ever closer.
The 2017-18 regular season was a relatively