Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol Sáez (Catalan: [ˈpaw ɣəˈzɔl], Spanish: [ˈpaw ɣaˈsol]; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA championships, both with the Los Angeles Lakers back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Memphis Grizzlies, being the first non-American player to have won that award. He is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time and is also considered as one of the greatest European players of all time.[4][5][6][7] He is the older brother of former NBA player Marc Gasol.

Gasol was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft, but his rights were traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies. He holds the Grizzlies' franchise record for free throws made and attempted.[8] Following more than six seasons with Memphis, Gasol played for the Los Angeles Lakers (2008–2014), the Chicago Bulls (2014–2016), the San Antonio Spurs (2016–2019), and the Milwaukee Bucks (2019).

Internationally, Gasol has won a FIBA World Cup title, three EuroBasket titles, two Olympic silver medals, and an Olympic bronze medal with the Spanish national basketball team. Gasol was named MVP of the 2006 FIBA World Cup, and MVP of the 2009 and 2015 FIBA EuroBasket. Pau Gasol shares (with Krešimir Ćosić) the record for most EuroBasket MVP awards, with two each. Gasol is also the all-time leading scorer in the EuroBasket.

In 2021, he became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).[9] In 2023, it was announced that Gasol would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Early life

Gasol was born in Barcelona. Both of his parents played basketball in organized leagues. His father Agustí, a nurse administrator, stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m), and his mother Marisa, a medical doctor, was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m).[11] When Gasol was born, his family was living in Cornellà, although he was born in Barcelona, at Sant Pau Hospital,[11] where both of his parents worked. When he was 6 years old, his family moved to a city close to Barcelona, Sant Boi de Llobregat, where he spent the remainder of his childhood.[12] Gasol was interested in football, but loved basketball. The first sport he played was actually rugby, before switching to basketball.[13] He is described as "a family boy and the perfect student, a tad shy, and a bit of a joker."[12]

He originally did not want to make sports his career. On the day that Magic Johnson announced his HIV-positive status in 1991, the 11-year-old Gasol, who had heard the news in school, decided that he wanted to be a doctor and find a cure for AIDS. He enrolled in medical school at the University of Barcelona in 1998, but left after one year as his basketball career at FC Barcelona advanced.

Professional career
Barcelona (1998–2001)
Gasol began playing basketball as a center with his school team, Llor, and eventually signed with Cornellà.[12] When he was sixteen, he began playing for FC Barcelona's junior team.[12] With Spain's national under-18 team, he won both the 1998 Albert Schweitzer Tournament and the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.[17] Gasol made his debut on January 17, 1999 with the senior team of FC Barcelona[18] and played just 25 total minutes in the Spanish ACB League's 1998–99 season, and averaged 13.7 minutes per game in the ACB the next year.[19] However, in his final season in the ACB, Gasol averaged 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game.[19] FC Barcelona was victorious in the Spanish National Cup's 2001 Final's championship game, and Gasol was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.[17] After entering the NBA draft, Gasol was selected third overall in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks,[20] who traded his draft rights to the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the Grizzlies' 27th pick in the draft Jamaal Tinsley.

On July 18, 2014, Gasol signed with the Chicago Bulls.[81] He said after he was introduced: "It was a gut feeling. I thought Chicago was going to be the best fit for me. It's a great challenge, but I'm driven by challenge. I look forward to it."[82]

On January 1, 2015, Gasol recorded a career-high 9 blocks, along with 17 points and 9 rebounds, in the 106–101 win over the Denver Nuggets.[83] Ten days later, he scored a career-high 46 points on 17-of-30 shooting in a 95–87 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.[84] On April 9, 2015, he recorded a league-best 51st double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds in an 89–78 win over the Miami Heat.[85] He recorded his 54th double-double of the season in the regular season finale on April 15 against the Atlanta Hawks to finish as the league-leader in double-doubles in 2014–15.[86]

On December 5, 2015, Gasol became the 116th player to reach 1,000 regular-season games. He had 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Charlotte Hornets for his ninth double-double of the season.[87] On January 25, 2016, he recorded his first career first quarter double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.[88] He finished the game with 19 points and 17 rebounds, as the Bulls were defeated by the Miami Heat 89–84.[89] On February 9, Gasol was named as Jimmy Butler's replacement on the 2016 Eastern Conference All-Star squad.[90] On February 27, he recorded his eighth career triple-double and first as a Bull with 22 points, 16 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists in a 103–95 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.[91] At 35 years old, he became the oldest player to record a triple-double since Kobe Bryant did so at 36 years old in 2014.[92] On March 7, he recorded his second triple-double of the season with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists in a 100–90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, becoming just the fourth player 35 years or older with multiple triple-doubles in a season, joining Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce.[93] On April 2, in a loss to the Detroit Pistons, he became the 38th NBA player to reach 10,000 career rebounds. He also became the 36th with 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds.

Player profile

Listed at 7 feet 0 inches (2.13 m),[b] Gasol was athletic for his size, allowing him to play both the power forward and center positions, much like fellow European players Toni Kukoč and Dirk Nowitzki. He was a refined scorer in the post and midrange; his overall game was near-ambidextrous, making it difficult for opposing teams to defend. Gasol used a variety of midrange jumpers, hook shots, up-and-under moves, and shot fakes to score very efficiently. In addition, his foot speed relative to his size allowed him to run the fast break and finish effectively. He was also a skilled passer for a big man,[74] earning 3.2 assists per game over his career. Defensively, he is an above-average shot blocker with a career average of 1.7 blocks per game. Kobe Bryant said of Gasol, "You'd be hard-pressed to find a big [man] with his skill set in the history of the game."[74]

Gasol recorded over 550 double-doubles in his NBA career.[133] On April 2, 2016, he became the 36th player in NBA history to reach the 10,000-point/10,000-rebound mark.[94] While Gasol became the 43rd player in NBA history to reach to the 20,000-point milestone, he is just the fourth with that many points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and 1,500 blocks.