Tag: Pau Gasol

Lakers great Pau Gasol is finally getting the recognition he deserves

Pau Gasol was chronically underappreciated during his tenure with the Lakers, but perhaps those days are over.

On Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Los Angeles Lakers will retire Pau Gasol’s No. 16 jersey.

It has been a long time coming, but he will finally be fully recognized for being a player who forever changed their fortunes.

When they traded for him on February 1, 2008, they were in a tailspin that had lasted ever since Shaquille O’Neal left in July 2004. Although they had started the 2007-08 season 26-11, they perhaps were a step short of being a true championship contender.

Center Andrew Bynum suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-January, and L.A. struggled without him, meaning there was a very real possibility it would miss the playoffs for the second time since O’Neal’s departure.

On top of that, there was Kobe Bryant’s trade demand, which he hadn’t rescinded since making the previous summer.

But Gasol’s arrival was a watershed moment for him and the Lakers, as they instantly became a juggernaut. They struggled to score around 100 points a game without Bynum, but with the Spaniard on board, they sprouted to approximately 110 a game, which was a ton back in those days.

The Lakers instantly reached the NBA Finals three straight times while winning back-to-back world championships, including one over the hated Boston Celtics.

Yet, many Lakers fans incessantly dogged Gasol throughout his tenure with the team.

Pau Gasol is awarded with Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award

Former Lakers star Pau Gasol was given an award that honors Kobe Bryant’s memory for advocating women’s sports.

Three years after his tragic death in a helicopter crash, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s legacy lives on.

Everyone is familiar with his on-the-court accomplishments: five NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, 15 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Defensive team nods, 18 All-Star game appearances and four All-Star game MVPs.

After he retired in 2016, he spent the rest of his days being a coach and mentor to others, including some NBA stars, but what was perhaps most touching was his advocacy for women’s and kids’ sports.

During the 2023 NBA All-Star game on Sunday, Pau Gasol, his championship teammate, was given the Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award.

Shortly after Bryant’s passing, the NBA renamed the All-Star game MVP award after him in order to honor his memory.

Pau Gasol is named a finalist for the basketball Hall of Fame

Former Lakers star big man Pau Gasol is officially just one step away from entering the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

When Pau Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers 15 years ago, he turned their fortunes around.

They had been mired deep in miserable mediocrity since trading Shaquille O’Neal in 2004. Even though Kobe Bryant was at the apex of his powers, it looked like he and the team were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Despite having seemingly very few tradable assets, L.A. landed the star big man from the Memphis Grizzlies, and it immediately took off, reaching the NBA Finals that June and winning the next two world championships.

One of those rings came against the Boston Celtics in a Game 7 that will forever be frozen in immortality for Lakers fans.

On Friday, Gasol took one step closer to achieving personal immortality when it was announced that he was a finalist for the 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class.

For his career, the Spanish native averaged 17 points on 50.7% shooting, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

The Lakers plan to retire Gasol’s No. 16 jersey on March 7 when they host the Grizzlies.

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On this date: Lakers trade for Pau Gasol

On Feb. 1, 2008, the Lakers drastically transformed their fortunes by trading for All-Star big man Pau Gasol.

Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, is a date that will always stand out for fans of the Los Angeles Lakers.

That afternoon, the team announced it had acquired Pau Gasol, a star big man who had spent his first six and a half seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. Better yet, it had surrendered very little to get him, only giving up Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, Marc Gasol and two first-round draft picks that amounted to very little.

This trade instantly transformed the fortunes of both the Lakers and Kobe Bryant. Since Shaquille O’Neal had been traded in 2004, the Lakers had been a mediocre team stuck in the middle of the standings and with seemingly no trade capital. Meanwhile, Bryant was upset about having to play on a substandard team.

He had demanded a trade the previous summer, but that all ended with the arrival of Gasol.

In Gasol, L.A. gained a player with virtually no weaknesses. He was an excellent post player with a seemingly endless variety of jump shots and jump hooks down low. He could hit the perimeter jumper and had range out to the 3-point line. He was a fine passer and possessed high basketball IQ, and he could put the ball on the floor and create his own shot a little bit. He was a very good rebounder, and although he wasn’t a defensive stopper or rim protector, he wasn’t a slouch either in that department.

The dividends came instantly. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals that June, losing to the Boston Celtics, and then claimed the next two world championships, including one over Boston in 2010.

As a result of the success he helped bring, Gasol will have his No. 16 jersey retired by the Lakers when they host the Grizzlies on March 7.

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Pau Gasol is candidate to be voted into Hall of Fame

Former Lakers star Pau Gasol may soon join the greatest of the greatest in Springfield, Mass.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won 17 NBA championships largely thanks to their rich tradition of elite big men.

It started with George Mikan in Minneapolis and continued over the decades with Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and now Anthony Davis.

In 2008, the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, who immediately took them from mediocrity to title contention.Although he was one of the best big men in the league, he has always been underappreciated, even by Lakers fans.

But those days may be coming to an end soon. Gasol is a candidate to be voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Gasol’s resume is nothing short of stellar: six NBA All-Star selections, two selections apiece to the All-NBA second team and third team, a Rookie of the Year award in 2002 and, of course, two world championships in 2009 and 2010.

But the Spaniard also boasts an impressive resume when it comes to playing for his native country. That resume includes one FIBA World Cup title, two silver medals and one bronze medal in the Olympics and three EuroBasket titles.

Perhaps the highlight of his career came in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals when he once and for all proved he wasn’t soft by grabbing 18 rebounds to help the Lakers defeat the Celtics, 83-79.

The Lakers will retire Gasol’s No. 16 jersey on March 7, regardless of whether he gets into the Hall of Fame in 2023.

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Lakers set date for retirement of Pau Gasol’s No. 16 jersey

Pau Gasol will officially get his jersey retired by the Lakers this coming season, and it will be well-deserved.

On Feb. 1, 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers pulled the trigger on a trade that brought them star big man Pau Gasol, and it massively changed their fortunes for the better.

At the time, they were going through their fourth season after trading Shaquille O’Neal, and, despite scattered moments of strong play, they had been mostly a mediocre team.

But Gasol’s arrival made them instant championship contenders. That season, Kobe Bryant and crew returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2004, and in both of the next two seasons, they took home the world championship.

For his contributions during his six-and-a-half seasons with them, the Lakers will retire Gasol’s No. 16 jersey on March 7 when they host the Memphis Grizzlies, the team he played for prior to coming to L.A.

Gasol may have always been somewhat underappreciated by Lakers fans, but his impact on the team was unmistakable.

His zenith with the team came in Game 7 of the 2010 finals versus the Boston Celtics, when he had 19 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots to help it claim the title.

Traditionally, the Lakers have only retired former players’ jerseys following a Hall of Fame induction, but Gasol will be an exception.

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Pau Gasol could have his jersey retired soon by the Lakers

Pretty soon, former Lakers star Pau Gasol could get the franchise’s biggest honor – having his jersey hung on the wall of Crypto.com Arena.

Pau Gasol was one of the better big men in the storied history of the Los Angeles Lakers.

When he arrived via trade in February 2008, it instantly changed the fortunes of the franchise, not to mention those of Kobe Bryant.

Gasol could play the 4 and 5, and he was an outstanding low post player who could create his own shot off the dribble, hit from the perimeter, rebound, occasionally block shots and even handle the ball in transition.

Once he came to the Lakers, they instantly went to the NBA Finals three straight times, winning back-to-back world championships in 2009 and 2010.

Yet, for some reason, he has always been underappreciated by Lakers fans.

But the days of Gasol not getting enough recognition may soon be over. He revealed his No. 16 jersey could be retired by the Lakers as soon as next season.

Although he was sometimes accused of being soft and lacking fire, Gasol played with passion during L.A.’s finals runs, especially when it really mattered.

No one will ever forget the 18 rebounds he grabbed in Game 7 of the 2010 championship series to help the Lakers finally defeat the Celtics and win it all.

It appears soon Gasol will get the same type of recognition that George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal have from arguably the most storied franchise in basketball history.

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On this date: Pau Gasol sends Lakers to second round of playoffs

On April 30, 2010, Pau Gasol made a game-winning shot to put away a young and very talented Oklahoma City Thunder team in the playoffs.

As the 2010 NBA Playoffs began, the Los Angeles Lakers were going for a second straight championship.

However, Kobe Bryant wasn’t himself because of a troublesome knee.

Even as L.A. took a 3-2 series lead in the first round over the young and dangerous Oklahoma City Thunder, Bryant struggled to produce.

He got his knee drained prior to Game 6 in Oklahoma City, and he played more like his vintage self, scoring 32 points on 12-of-25 shooting.

But he still needed help to put away Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and company, as they stayed right on the Lakers’ heels.

L.A. trailed by one with seconds left in the fourth quarter, and it looked like both teams would be headed back to Southern California for a seventh contest.

Bryant missed a mid-range jumper, but his partner in crime, Pau Gasol, got the rebound and put it back in just before the buzzer to give the Lakers a 95-94 victory.

The Lakers would soon regain their mojo, sweeping the Utah Jazz in the next round and overcoming the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, and Bryant started playing as well as he ever had.

The pièce de résistance came afterward, when L.A. outlasted the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to bring the city perhaps its most satisfying world championship.

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The players who have been swept the most times in NBA playoffs history

HoopsHype shows the 11 players who have been swept the most times in NBA playoff history.

Making it to the NBA playoffs is not easy. And winning games once there is even more difficult. Just ask the players on the list below made up of the men who have been swept the most times in NBA playoff history.

Shockingly enough, there are some legends on this list, including one from Spain and one who is considered one of the most dominant centers of all time.

Pau Gasol is one of two players to have been swept six times in their career. Gasol got swept as a member of three different teams, with the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. Same with Shaquille O’Neal, who was swept as a member of the Lakers, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.

Gasol was swept out of the first round of the playoffs four times while O’Neal in the first round just twice.

Al Horford could join the Six Sweeps club this season if the Boston Celtics get swept this year, as it has happened to him in the playoffs five times already. Three of them came at the hands of LeBron James, who terrorized the Atlanta Hawks like no other.

Check out the list below.

The players who have been swept the most times in NBA playoffs history

Making it to the NBA playoffs is not easy. And winning games once there is even more difficult. Just ask the players on the list below made up of the men who have been swept the most times in NBA playoff history.

Shockingly enough, there are some legends on this list, including one from Spain and one who is considered one of the most dominant centers of all time.

Pau Gasol is one of two players to have been swept six times in their career. Gasol got swept as a member of three different teams, with the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. Same with Shaquille O’Neal, who was swept as a member of the Lakers, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.

Gasol was swept out of the first round of the playoffs four times while O’Neal in the first round just twice.

Al Horford could join the Six Sweeps club this season if the Boston Celtics get swept this year, as it has happened to him in the playoffs five times already. Three of them came at the hands of LeBron James, who terrorized the Atlanta Hawks like no other.

Check out the list below.