While the Los Angeles Lakers won’t be lifting a championship trophy this season, former players of the franchise are doing so overseas.
Lakers great Pau Gasol, who signed with Liga ACB club FC Barcelona earlier in the year, is a champion yet again.
FC Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the Liga ACB Final, 92-73, to take home the league title.
Gasol played 20 minutes off the bench and added 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Nikola Mirotic, who also played in the NBA a few seasons ago, led all scorers with 27 points in 23 minutes.
The win marks Gasol’s third Liga ACB trophy, as he won two in 1999 and 2001 before coming to the NBA. Gasol was also the ACB Finals MVP in the 2001 victory.
Barça captain Pierre Oriola called Pau Gasol over to help lift the trophy 🙌
This may be one last title for Pau.
(via @FCBbasket) pic.twitter.com/tSzKeZKNlx
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 15, 2021
Gasol came to Los Angeles via trade in the 2007-08 season and played for the franchise until the 2013-14 season.
The 40-year-old big man helped deliver back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, and he also made the All-Star team in three consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2011.
The final might have been Gasol’s last professional game. If it is, he’s had an incredible journey and career that has spanned multiple decades.
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