A loss against Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics may have signaled the end of Pau Gasol’s illustrious playing career, and if that is the case, what a sensational career it was. It goes without saying, Gasol accomplished a lot in the NBA – namely, …
A loss against Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics may have signaled the end of Pau Gasol’s illustrious playing career, and if that is the case, what a sensational career it was.
It goes without saying, Gasol accomplished a lot in the NBA – namely, winning two championships and having six All-Star and four All-NBA appearances – but it was in the summer when he was most dominant, playing with Spain in countless tournaments that usually ended in a medal and with him in MVP contention.
Below, check out all the accolades put together by the best FIBA player ever.
Los Angeles Lakers great Pau Gasol is still winning championships outside of the NBA.
While the Los Angeles Lakers won’t be lifting a championship trophy this season, former players of the franchise are doing so overseas.
Lakers great Pau Gasol, who signed with Liga ACB club FC Barcelona earlier in the year, is a champion yet again.
FC Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the Liga ACB Final, 92-73, to take home the league title.
Gasol played 20 minutes off the bench and added 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Nikola Mirotic, who also played in the NBA a few seasons ago, led all scorers with 27 points in 23 minutes.
The win marks Gasol’s third Liga ACB trophy, as he won two in 1999 and 2001 before coming to the NBA. Gasol was also the ACB Finals MVP in the 2001 victory.
Barça captain Pierre Oriola called Pau Gasol over to help lift the trophy 🙌
Gasol came to Los Angeles via trade in the 2007-08 season and played for the franchise until the 2013-14 season.
The 40-year-old big man helped deliver back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, and he also made the All-Star team in three consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2011.
The final might have been Gasol’s last professional game. If it is, he’s had an incredible journey and career that has spanned multiple decades.
Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant were unbelievably close. Not just as teammates, but as real friends off of the court. As brothers.
Bryant always waxed poetic about their playing days together even though Gasol went under appreciated during his time in Los Angeles. That hasn’t changed today. Gasol always refers to Bryant as his brother.
“I miss you, hermano…not a day goes by that you are not present in what I do. Your spririt, your drive, your ambition, your love…continues to shine in my life and many others. Photos, videos, very special moments are being shared by countless people that have admired you and loved you in their own way, reminding me how lucky I have been to share some of those moments with you. I hope you and Gigi are smiling down seeing how strong, sweet and amazing your girls are.”
So touching, man. What an incredible friend. What an incredible friendship between the two of them.
The former two-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers is hoping to come back to the NBA and play with his brother, Marc.
Former Los Angeles Lakers star and NBA champion Pau Gasol has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons, keeping him away from the game he loves and one in which he became a likely first-ballot Hall of Fame player. Gasol has not yet let go of the dream of playing again in the NBA and after the loss of his friend and former teammate Kobe Bryant, as well as the decision of his brother to join the Los Angeles Lakers, he has his sights set on a return to the purple and gold. However, he knows that given the fact he hasn’t played since 2019 and is 40 years old, he isn’t in high demand.
“There is meaning and history there,” said Gasol, who won titles with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010 in an interview with ESPN’s Zach Lowe. “I’m not going to lie. It would be very special, and now that my brother [Marc] is there, even more special. But I’m not in a position now to be very demanding. I don’t have 10 offers on the table.”
Gasol still believes he can contribute. And playing alongside his brother would be an added benefit to playing out the final days of a great career.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been on an absolute roll this offseason after winning a title.
They stole the sixth man of the year away from the Clippers in Montrezl Harrell and traded for the runner up in Dennis Schroëder. They also managed to pick up Marc Gasol in free agency to bolster that center spot up.
They could put a nice little cherry on top of things before the season starts. How? By signing Pau Gasol.
Yes, you read that right. PAU. GASOL. The former Laker sat down with ESPN’s Zach Lowe. He revealed that he is plotting not only a return to Spain’s national team for the Olympics but also an NBA comeback with hopes of returning to LA to finish his career with the Lakers.
“There is meaning and history there,” said Gasol, who won titles with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010. “I’m not going to lie. It would be very special, and now that my brother [Marc] is there, even more special. But I’m not in a position now to be very demanding. I don’t have 10 offers on the table.”
The circumstances of Gasol coming back to the team that he won two titles with at 40 years old would be amazing on its own.
But the most incredible layer to that would be the fact that he’d be coming back to play with his brother who he was traded away from Memphis for when he first started his Lakers career. Talk about bringing things full circle. This would be epic.
But as sentimental as this would be, it might simply be wishful thinking. There’s a lot in the way of this.
The last time we saw Gasol play an actual basketball game was in March of 2019, which feels like a century ago after this year. Plus, he’s undergone two surgeries since then, according to Lowe. So he may not be the healthiest and it’s not like he was at his peak when he left.
On top of that, there’s the roster issues that come with it. The Lakers signed Quinn Cook with their final roster spot a few days ago, so picking up Gasol would require them to drop someone else from the roster.
And each roster spot this season is more important than ever with teams playing outside of the NBA’s bubble with the pandemic still raging. The 15th man on the roster might actually end up playing.
Still, seeing Gasol in a Laker uniform for one last season would be incredible. And after the year we’ve had? It’d be amazing to see.
Pau Gasol spent six-and-a-half seasons as Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers teammate, with the pair winning two titles together.
He and Bryant were always close and after Bryant and Bryant’s daughter Gianna died tragically in 2020, Gasol stayed close with Bryant’s family — just recently, Gasol posted a photo of himself sailing with the late Bryant’s wife and daughters.
On Sunday, he announced the birth of his daughter Elisabet, whose middle name is Gianna, honoring the girl known to many as Gigi. Gasol called it “a very meaningful name for our super beautiful daughter” and added #girldad, which trended after ESPN’s Elle Duncan spoke about meeting Bryant and how proud he was to be a “girl dad.”
Our little one has finally arrived!! The delivery went really well and we couldn’t be happier!! Elisabet Gianna Gasol 😍, a very meaningful name for our super beautiful daughter!! ❤️👨👩👧 #girldadpic.twitter.com/rmXWk0BTFz
Through their years of playing together and winning championships, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant formed a bond that extended outside of basketball.
They weren’t just teammates — they became brothers off the court. Bryant always waxed poetic about their playing days together even though Gasol went under appreciated during his time in Los Angeles. Gasol always refers to Bryant as his brother.
It’s clear that, even in Bryant’s passing, that relationship still remains as strong as it was when he was alive. Both Kobe Bryant and Gigi Bryant are still Gasol’s family.
He made that clear in a tweet on Friday where he posted a picture of him sailing with Vanessa Bryant and her daughters as well as his wife.
There’s a difference between being present and being there for someone and “reach out to me if you ever need anything.” Paul Gasol is always there for Kobe Bryant’s family ❤️ https://t.co/cE3qnr9teM
Gilbert Arenas was a smooth and effective scorer during his NBA career.
Before Gilbert Arenas became a star with the Washington Wizards, he was an up-and-coming player hooping in the Bay.
Arenas was drafted No. 31 overall by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft, and he played his first two seasons with the franchise. A guard out of Arizona, Arenas displayed his penchant for scoring in college. In two seasons with the Wildcats, he averaged 15.8 points per game on 46.6% shooting.
The first two seasons of Arenas’ career were filled with promise. During the 2001-02 campaign, his rookie season, Arenas ranked fourth among rookies in points per game (10.9), with his teammate Jason Richardson ahead of him at third.
With his passing ability, Arenas ranked third among rookies in assists per game (3.7), with only Jamaal Tinsley and Tony Parker ahead of him.
The following season, Arenas continued to build his reputation around the league. During his sophomore campaign, Arenas was second on the Warriors in scoring behind Antawn Jamison.
He was second among sophomores in points per game (18.3), right behind Pau Gasol. Arenas won the Most Improved Player award in 2003, and he was second among second-year players in assists per game (6.3), only behind Tinsley.
Arenas had one of the best performances of his career during March 2003, when he dropped 41 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished five assists in a win against the Wizards.
Throughout most of his career, Arenas could drive through the lane and finish at the rim. But he could also size up an opponent, create space with his dribble and pull up for a smooth jumper.
His moves were made with purpose, and once he created the space he needed, he usually scored. Arenas’ scoring peaked with the Wizards, and he earned all three of his All-Star appearances with the franchise.
He signed with the Wizards in the summer of 2003, as the Warriors couldn’t match the offer sheet Washington gave him. Arenas was a restricted free agent early in his career because he wasn’t on a rookie scale contract; only first-round picks qualify for those.
Because of this, the NBA made a provision that limits the amount of money teams can offer restricted free agents who only have one or two years of experience, per Hoops Rumors. With the provision, teams cannot offer a first-year salary higher than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Arenas’ career with the Wizards was stellar. He had his best overall season during the 2005-06 campaign, when he scored a career-high 29.3 points per game and dished 6.1 assists a game. That season, he ranked fourth in the league for scoring, with the late Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and LeBron James ahead of him.
Knee injuries and the gun incident with Javaris Crittenton unfortunately shortened Arenas’ career, but his standing in the Wizards’ record books remains high.
Per Basketball Reference, Arenas ranks 10th all-time in points on the franchise’s all-time leading scorers list. He ranks seventh on the list in assists.
They weren’t together very long, but the duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson were among the highest-scoring of All-Time.
While the upcoming Michael Jordan documentary and the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s are on the minds of most sports fans, the hiatus has given sports fans and sports media more time to reminisce on teams that we loved but may have forgotten. And LeBron James’ son, Bronny James Jr., gave a shout out to one of those teams forgotten to the NBA past on Thursday.
Bronny gave a shout out to his Dad’s buddy Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, who were teammates together on the Denver Nuggets in the late 2000s for the better part of two seasons. During their lone full season together in Denver, Iverson averaged over 26.4 points per game while Anthony averaged 25 points per game. They were one of the highest-scoring duos of the last 20 years. The fine folks at SLAM gave them a shoutout on Instagram, which was reposted by Bronny.
Unfortunately for the Nuggets, their cult status as a high-scoring duo was the high water mark for the Anthony-Iverson duo. They were swept in the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs by Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the Los Angeles Lakers, who would eventually win the Western Conference championship that season. Early in the next season, they would trade Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups and eventually meet the Lakers in the 2009 playoffs, but in the Western Conference Finals.
