This weekend, former Los Angeles Lakers star big man Pau Gasol will receive the ultimate validation of his athletic career when he is inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Once he received the final vote to be inducted, the Lakers retired his No. 16 jersey during an emotional March ceremony at Crypto.com Arena.
It has been said the Lakers and the late Kobe Bryant transformed Gasol from a very good player into a great one. But it’s easy to forget Gasol also transformed and resurrected Bryant and the Lakers.
When the Spanish native arrived in L.A. in February 2008, the team had suffered through three and a half years of mediocrity following Shaquille O’Neal’s departure. Bryant, who was approaching his 30th birthday, grew extremely frustrated at the lack of progress made and demanded a trade the previous summer.
But Gasol’s arrival changed all that for good.
Mitch Kupchak, then the Lakers’ general manager, recently reflected on how the Gasol trade came together.