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When Pau Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2008, his arrival transformed the team and took it from hopeless mediocrity to joyous championship contention.
In his first three years in Los Angeles, the team reached the NBA Finals each season and captured back-to-back world championships in 2009 and 2010. That success made Gasol a candidate for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and this weekend, he will be inducted there.
The Spaniard was asked who, in his opinion, are the 10 greatest players in NBA history, and he responded by including four Lakers in his list (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via Los Angeles Times:
“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Stephen Curry,” the Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner revealed is Gasol’s list.
Gasol actually gave 11 names, but it’s notable he left off Shaquille O’Neal, another former Laker great.
Still, he was extremely fortunate to play seven seasons with Bryant, especially at a time when the two needed each other. Entering the 2007-2008 season, Bryant had demanded a trade because he was frustrated that the Lakers hadn’t shown progress years after trading O’Neal. Gasol, meanwhile, was stuck on a declining Memphis Grizzlies team that had won 22 games the season prior.
Needless to say, the Gasol-Bryant pairing was one made in heaven.