MADRID, 7 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Former Spanish player Pau Gasol will see his shirt with the number ’16’ retired in the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, being the twelfth player from the Los Angeles franchise to achieve this honor and following in the footsteps of his ‘older brother’ Kobe Bryant.
During six and a half seasons, Pau Gasol managed to leave his mark on the Lakers, with two rings won and three finals. A good sporting legacy loaded with notable and stellar moments of which he is already a legend of the ‘gold and purple’ franchise.
SIGNING OF INFLECTION. In February 2008, the oldest of the Gasol brothers left the Memphis Grizzlies, his first team in the NBA, to head towards the Lakers. An exchange of cards, with the rights of Marc Gasol moved from the Lakers to the Grizzlies, which made Pau land at the Staples Center ready to change the bad Los Angeles dynamic.
THE DEBUT AS GOLDEN. On February 2 came the debut of Pau Gasol as ‘Laker’. It was against the New Jersey Nets, at home, and he finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds (a 105-90 win), some ‘double figures’ with which he began to dream.
FIRST FINAL, BUT LOST. In June 2008, in his first season with the Lakers, Pau Gasol was key as Kobe Bryant’s squire as the team reached the NBA Finals. However, they lost to the archenemies Boston Celtics and many pointed to the ‘soft’ Pau Gasol as the culprit.
FIRST GLORY TO SHUT UP MOUTHS. The following season, being even more important in the team, the Lakers won the NBA after 6 years of drought. They beat the Orlando Magic 4-1 and in the fifth and final game Pau Gasol had 14 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Taking their revenge from 2008, the Lakers revalidated the title in 2010 against the Boston Celtics, in a very close final (4-3) that is among the best in NBA history. And Pau Gasol had a lot of weight in the favorable outcome for the ‘gold and purple’, with a seventh game where he grabbed 18 rebounds.
LAST MATCH AND MARCH TO ANOTHER HISTORICAL FRANCHISE. On April 1, 2014, Pau Gasol played his last game with the Lakers in a very discreet campaign and without being able to reach the ‘playoffs’. It was at the Staples Center, with a 112-124 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers, and with the Catalan signing 9 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, two blocks and 1 steal. In July of that year, he headed to Chicago to join the Bulls, another historic franchise in the best league in the world. In total, he played 429 games as a ‘Laker’, averaging 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds.
WITHDRAWAL OF ’16’. However, Pau Gasol’s baggage in the Lakers was great, enough to remember him to withdraw the ’16’. Two rings, three finals and a change of course for a team that was adrift and that with Gasol and Bryant smiled again and won. Now, already retired, at 42 years old, the Catalan will shine again at Staples, now Crypto.com Arena, watching his shirt fly to watch his Lakers from Olympus for life.