Tag: Pau Gasol

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.

DeMar DeRozan’s Chicago Bulls tenure compared to Pau Gasol’s

DeMar DeRozan is the first All-Star acquisition the Chicago Bulls have made since Pau Gasol.

Two years ago, the Chicago Bulls signed DeMar DeRozan in the midst of a flurry of moves that signaled a change for the organization. Well, technically, they traded for him, as they completed a sign-and-trade with the San Antonio Spurs to land the then-four-time All-Star forward.

Unfortunately, Chicago hasn’t been able to put forth much consistency with DeRozan leading the way. He helped them snap a four-year playoff drought in the 2021-22 season, but they were a first-round exit. And this past year, they were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament, taking a step backward. But Bulls fans should still appreciate DeRozan, says Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation, as the Bulls haven’t added a talent like him in years.

According to Schuster, the last time Chicago added a guy playing at his All-Star peak was when they signed Pau Gasol in the summer of 2014.

“I mean, seriously, we’ve very rarely seen the Bulls add All-Star-caliber talent that was still performing at the peak of their powers,” Schuster wrote. “When they added Wade and Rondo, those two were far past their primes. The last time we saw this would probably be when Pau Gasol joined the mix. He had a back-to-back All-Star campaign and played some truly great basketball in a Bulls jersey. Unfortunately, those teams didn’t achieve much and it’s gotten lost in time. I’m hoping that’s not what happens with DeRozan because – in a vacuum – his stint here has been a great story.”

It’s great to see some star power return to the city of Chicago after years of a rebuild, but hopefully, the Bulls can accomplish more with DeRozan than they did with Gasol.

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Paul George shows love to Rockets’ Alperen Sengun, compares playmaking to Magic Johnson

In a new podcast, Clippers star Paul George says young #Rockets center Alperen Sengun shows playmaking flashes that remind him of several NBA legends, including Magic Johnson.

With averages of 14.8 points (55.3% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers), 9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, young Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun took a leap forward in his second NBA season.

Even stars like Nikola Jokic, the back-to-back league MVP, went out of his way during the 2022-23 year to urge Houston to run more offense through its creative 20-year-old big man out of Turkey.

Now, add eight-time All-Star Paul George — currently of the Los Angeles Clippers — to a growing list of NBA royalty to show respect to Sengun. On a new episode of “Podcast P with Paul George,” George had this to say about Sengun (hat tip Rexwell Villas, Clutch Points):

He’s been doing it all season long and he’s been getting some recognition, but I think more so now. … He’s showing his true personality. His true self is starting to shine through. He’s a big dog. Beast.

He’s got shades of Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol. He’s got shades of Jokic, and the great bigs that can pass, shoot and playmake. I love his game, he can do it all. He’s a super, super high IQ player.

The greatest part of his game is his playmaking. I’ve seen some flashiness where he’s on some Magic (Johnson) type sh*t. He can hoop.

In four games versus the Clippers this season, Sengun averaged 17.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 30.5 minutes. He shot 56.8%. It certainly seems to have to have caught George’s attention.

The complete podcast can be viewed below, with the Sengun discussion starting at approximately the 53 minute mark.

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Sources: Pau Gasol has been elected into the Hall of Fame

Former Lakers star Pau Gasol will reportedly receive the highest honor in basketball, as he has been voted into the Hall of Fame.

The last few months have been something of an affirmation of the stellar career Pau Gasol had.

The star big man played six and a half of his 18 NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. His arrival there in 2008 transformed them from a mediocre team to a bona fide powerhouse.

The Lakers instantly reached the NBA Finals three straight times and captured back-to-back world championships, including one over their hated rivals, the Boston Celtics.

Gasol was recently named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2023, and he had his No. 16 jersey retired by the Lakers in an emotional ceremony in early March.

According to ESPN sources, Gasol has gained the final nod for the Hall of Fame and will get inducted later this year.

He will go in as part of one of the most star-studded classes ever. Joining him are fellow NBA greats Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker, longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon.

Hammon served as one of Popovich’s assistant coaches; she was the second female assistant coach in league history. During a 2020 game against the Lakers, she took over for Popovich after he was ejected, allowing her to make history as the first female acting head coach in NBA history.

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An emotional Pau Gasol wiped away tears watching his jersey number retired next to Kobe Bryant’s

Gasol on Kobe: “I can’t go on without talking about the person and the face I don’t see.”

Two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol joined an exclusive fraternity of players to have their jersey number retired by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The six-time All-Star was honored when the organization raised his jersey into the rafters at halftime during the Lakers game on Tuesday. No one in the franchise’s history will ever wear his No. 16 again.

As the former Los Angeles big man watched his jersey retirement unveiling ceremony, he couldn’t help but show all of his emotions — especially after he saw that his jersey would hang directly next to Kobe Bryant’s.

Bryant and Gasol won championships together in 2008-09 and 2009-10. Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, introduced Gasol to the crowd before the ceremony began:

Gasol’s speech, which was selfless and appreciative of every teammate he had along the way, made sure to address his adoration for the late Bryant.

He said Bryant “elevated” and “inspired” him to be a better player and a better man. Gasol added that Bryant was looking forward to this moment.

Gasol had a press conference about the honor and spoke more about Bryant:

“He definitely inspired me and showed me what it took to be the best player you can be: The work ethic, the dedication, the mindset going into it. He challenged me to be better with his actions, with his words … He was very intentional with his actions. I was in. I was all the way in. I would go as far as he would want me to go and I wanted to win. It was a very special time.”

He said that being around a person of that caliber who demanded excellence helped him rise to the occasion.

Gasol noted that he had to evolve as a player to become an ideal No. 2 to Bryant, but it worked splendidly.

During the ceremony, on the jumbotron, Gasol was also shown a never-before-scene message about him recorded by Bryant. You can watch Bryant’s message for his championship running mate here:

Since Bryant’s passing, Gasol has shared heartfelt messages about their friendship.

He has stayed in touch with Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, and he has gone sailing with the family. Vanessa and her children attended the ceremony on Tuesday as well.

Gasol also named his child, born in 2020, after Kobe’s late daughter Gianna.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Pau Gasol’s Lakers jersey retirement

Lakers fans showed nothing but love for Pau Gasol following the retirement of his No. 16 jersey on Tuesday.

Former Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol was immortalized at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday when the franchise retired his No. 16 jersey at halftime of its game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Gasol gave the Lakers six and a half years of stellar play. Upon his arrival in February 2008, they instantly reached the NBA Finals three straight times while capturing back-to-back championships.

His addition instantly transformed them from a struggling, mediocre team to one that fans will never forget.

It was an emotional ceremony for the Spaniard, who was joined by his wife, children and younger brother Marc, as well as Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Gasol’s beloved teammate Kobe Bryant.

The big man may have been underappreciated during his Lakers tenure, but fans took to Twitter to shower him with love after his jersey was retired.