Tag: Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol’s Hall of Fame jacket honors Kobe Bryant’s memory

The jacket former Lakers star Pau Gasol received this weekend at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame pays tribute to Kobe Bryant.

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On Saturday, former Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol earned the ultimate athletic honor when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The day before, the festivities began with the big man receiving his Hall of Fame jacket.

It was the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance. Gasol endured some frustrating early years with the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to the Lakers, and that trade ended up saving both parties.

Gasol instantly made the Lakers championship contenders, and he developed a chemistry and bond with Kobe Bryant that has stood the test of time.

Even three years after Bryant’s tragic death, the Spaniard still has a special place in his heart for the legendary guard. His Hall of Fame jacket featured pictures that honored the memory of the Black Mamba.

Together, Gasol and Bryant reached the NBA Finals in each of their first three seasons together and captured back-to-back world championships in 2009 and 2010.

Watch: Pau Gasol’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony and speech

Former Lakers star Pau Gasol is now officially a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Former Los Angeles Lakers star big man Pau Gasol is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, and the ceremony served as the ultimate validation of a long and successful basketball career.

Gasol won back-to-back NBA championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and was chosen to be in the All-Star game six times. He has an impressive international resume, which includes 11 medals, three of which came in the Olympics.

The Spaniard gave a speech that was full of gratitude, and he thanked many people for helping him to get to Springfield, Massachusetts.

Gasol spent six seasons and change with the Lakers, and he played his final NBA game in 2019. The impact he left on the Purple and Gold was unmistakable, and it will never be forgotten.

Phil Jackson was initially reluctant to support Pau Gasol trade

Although former Lakers coach Phil Jackson became an admirer of Pau Gasol, he initially wasn’t sure the Spaniard was what the team needed.

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In the mid-2000s, the Los Angeles Lakers were floundering after the departure of Shaquille O’Neal. They had the NBA’s top player, Kobe Bryant, but little else around him, and by 2007 it looked like there was no way for them to improve.

Bryant demanded a trade that summer, and it looked like the beginning of the end for the Lakers as millions had come to know them for decades.

Then came the miraculous Pau Gasol trade in February 2008. Suddenly, happy days were back again for the Purple and Gold and their fans.

Gasol was a seamless fit in head coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, and Jackson became an admirer of the big man’s game. However, the “Zen Master” had initial reservations about whether Gasol was what the Lakers needed to resurrect their dynasty.

Via Sportskeeda:

“We had discussed the trade for Pau a season before. My reluctance was that he wasn’t a defensive center and protecting the lane was a priority. However, Andrew Bynum was an important member of the team and allowed Pau to play both positions when the Lakers won back-to-back titles. Pau’s ability to play both positions really made the Lakers a potent offensive team.”

As it turned out, Bynum provided the brawn and defense, while Gasol was the skilled, savvy and versatile second scorer L.A. needed alongside Bryant. Once the Spanish native arrived, the Lakers were suddenly back in the business of winning championships, and that winning got him inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Watch: Pau Gasol gets jacket and ring at Hall of Fame

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame festivities began on Friday, as Pau Gasol got ready to be officially inducted.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, former Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

It will be the ultimate validation of a sensational basketball resume that includes six All-Star selections, back-to-back NBA championships and two Olympic silver medals.

Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2008, and he transformed them into instant title contenders. He spent six-and-a-half seasons there and formed an outstanding star combo with Kobe Bryant.

On Friday, the Hall of Fame festivities began, and the Spaniard received a jacket and ring commemorating his induction.

Saturday is sure to be an emotional day and night for the Lakers great.

Pau Gasol gives his 10 best players in NBA history

Incoming Hall of Fame inductee Pau Gasol was asked his 10 best players of all time list, and he included four Lakers greats.

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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.

Former Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak reflects on the Pau Gasol trade

Mitch Kupchak, the one-time Lakers general manager, talked about how the famed Pau Gasol trade of 2008 came together.

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.

Pau Gasol on the impact Phil Jackson had on him

Former Lakers star Pau Gasol opened up about how much his old coach Phil Jackson has always meant to him.

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During his seven seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol was a magnificent player, but he was sometimes underrated and underappreciated, even by his own team’s fans.

After he left the team in 2014, it sometimes seemed as if its fans had almost forgotten about him. But this past season, they showed their love for him when he got his No. 16 jersey retired during an emotional halftime ceremony.

Days from now, Gasol will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s something that likely wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been traded to the Lakers.

Then-Lakers head coach Phil Jackson played a big role in unlocking his potential. Gasol recently opened up about how much the “Zen Master” meant and still means to him.

Via Lakers Nation:

“Phil is so unique in a way that he is. He’s known to figure out a way to get the best out of his players, understand how he can poke them and motivate them and see what’s too far, what’s too little and he can fine-tune that,” he said. “Loved how spiritual and intellectual he is. I love his whole demeanor, really. Even though sometimes he can get under your skin and he would do that purposely. He would get a kick out of it. It’s just how he was, how he is.

“But I loved continuing to see him over the years. And every time pretty much that I come to L.A., we find time to get together and have lunch and we talk and it’s great. I tell him I love him, I hug him. I’m trying to go visit him in Montana and spend some time in the mountains, but hopefully, we’ll make that happen soon. He was doing some work last year, didn’t happen. I go back in the summers to Spain, most of the time, so it’s hard during that summertime where Montana is blossoming I guess. But I still don’t I don’t mind. I won’t visit because of the weather, I want to spend time with him. That’s really what I care about. So it’s been great.”

When Gasol arrived in L.A. midway through the 2007-08 season, he seamlessly fit into Jackson’s triangle offense and picked it up very quickly. The Lakers, who had been mediocre for the past few years, instantly became contenders, and Gasol and Kobe Bryant led them to three straight NBA Finals appearances and back-to-back world titles.

Jeanie Buss recalls the impact Pau Gasol had on the Lakers

Jeanie Buss talked about how Pau Gasol changed the Lakers’ fortunes in 2008 and resurrected their dormant dynasty.

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The late Kobe Bryant had such an incredible career with the Los Angeles Lakers that it’s easy to forget both parties were in a very difficult situation in the mid-2000s.

After Shaquille O’Neal demanded a trade and was granted his wish in 2004, the Lakers instantly fell into mediocrity. They missed the playoffs the following season and lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2006 and 2007 playoffs. It looked like it would be a long time before they would be contenders again.

But Feb. 1, 2008 was the day everything changed. That afternoon, Los Angeles announced it had landed All-Star big man Pau Gasol in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. He not only made it an instant championship contender, but he was also a perfect fit.

During an exclusive interview with Mark Medina, owner Jeanie Buss reflected on what Gasol meant to the organization.

Via Sportskeeda:

“Pau came into the team that was running the triangle offense. He picked up the offense in three days. He didn’t miss a beat. He was the perfect player. As Phil (Jackson) explained to me, as an organization you decide what style of play you want to play and what team you want to be. Then you hire a coach that runs that style. Then you draft a team or sign players that fit that style.

“Here was the ultimate player that fit so perfectly in what we were doing. He fit with Kobe and what Kobe wanted to accomplish. Then the team just took off on a run all the way to the NBA Finals only to lose to our No. 1 rival, the Boston Celtics. That was a heartbreaker. But to come back to win the next two was really special.”

Gasol had his No. 16 jersey retired by the Lakers in an emotional ceremony in March. He is set to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame days from now.

A lovely mural honoring Lakers legends was unveiled in Koreatown

A look at the beautiful new mural created by artist Jonas Never that honors three eras of Lakers championship basketball.

As everybody knows, the Los Angeles Lakers boast one of the richest histories in the world of sports, and their lineage of all-time greats rivals that of any other team in any sport.

There was the George Mikan era. There was the era of Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. There was the Showtime era of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Of course, the 2000s belonged to Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

These days, the purple and gold torch is in the hands of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

A new mural honoring Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Bryant (who was depicted twice as No. 8 and No. 24), O’Neal, Gasol, Davis and James was unveiled in Koreatown, and it is a thing of beauty.

The mural was created by Jonas Never, who has made numerous murals across the greater Los Angeles area, including other murals of Bryant and James.