BARCELONA, 5 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Former Spanish international player Marc Gasol will see his ’33’ retired at the top of the FedEx Forum, the Memphis Grizzlies pavilion that was his home for nine years and where he managed to be the franchise’s leader in minutes, blocks, rebounds and free throw attempts. in a ceremony in which the one from Sant Boi de Llobregat will follow in the footsteps of his older brother Pau Gasol, whose ’16’ was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers last year.
The ceremony will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Memphis (Tennessee), at 2:00 a.m. from Saturday to Sunday in Spain. It will be in a FedEx Forum in which the Grizzlies will host the Philadelphia 76ers with the intention of winning and making the party complete. But the role will be practically total for Marc Gasol, a ‘neighbor’ from Memphis who left his mark not only on the team but on the city and its people.
Marc Gasol was part of a team to remember in Memphis along with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, the only players whose numbers (’50’ and ‘9’) already hang from the ceiling of the ‘Grizzly’ fiefdom, and Mike Conley, among others, the four of them being known as the ‘Core Four’, the soul of a group that reached the Conference Finals in 2013. Something that has never been done before and that has not been able to be repeated, for now.
’33’, considered by many to be one of the most versatile centers in NBA history, led the way as a three-time NBA All-Star, was the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the NBA championship team. of the Toronto Raptors in 2019. And, with Spain, he won an Olympic silver medal twice. But, in Memphis, it will be where his jersey becomes eternal and a legend.
The ceremony will feature commemorative videos, with some of the best plays (the famous ‘highlights’, in English) on the giant screens of the FedEx Forum and, to touch the heart of the Catalan ‘giant’, the interpretation of the United States anthem by part of the choir of the Lausanne institute, the educational center where Marc studied when his older brother Pau Gasol played in Memphis.
The eldest Gasol, who experienced this tribute from the Lakers a little over a year ago, will be in Memphis with Marc Gasol’s entire family. In addition, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen will be present at a ceremony that will have live music, in a Memphis that will have a prior concert with a performance by Corey Lou & Da Village.
It will not be at half-time of the match, but at the end of the match, when the number retirement ceremony begins. According to the franchise, the party could last up to 3 hours, so anyone who wants to see the ’33’ withdrawal live in Spain will do so well into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Marc Gasol played 11 seasons (2008-19) with the Grizzlies and helped guide the franchise to seven consecutive playoff appearances, including the club’s first postseason series victory in 2011 and a trip to the Conference Finals. West 2013.
Additionally, he is the Grizzlies’ all-time leader in minutes played (25,917), games started (762), field goals scored (4,341), free throws scored (2,701), defensive rebounds (4,624), total rebounds (5,952) and blocks (1,135) and ranks second in franchise history in games played (769), points (11,684), assists (2,639), offensive rebounds (1,318), double-doubles (194) and triple-doubles (5) and third in robberies (708).
Marc Gasol was, thanks to his good work with the Grizzlies, named NBA Defensive Player of the Year 2012-13, becoming the first player born in Europe to receive such an honor. In addition, he was chosen in the 2014-15 NBA Best Quintet, being the only player in the history of the franchise to achieve this, and for the Second Team and the Second All-Defensive Team in 2012-13.
Additionally, Marc Gasol appeared in three NBA All-Star appearances (2012, 2015, 2017) as a ‘Grizzly’, another franchise record, and became the first player in Grizzlies history to be chosen as a starter, in a historic edition for co-starring in the initial jump of the duel of the stars with his brother Pau Gasol, in the historic Madison Square Garden in New York.