On March 7, Pau Gasol will become the 7th European player to see his jersey join the ceiling of an NBA room. It will be at the Crypto.com Arena, on the occasion of the meeting between the Lakers and the Wolves of Rudy Gobert.
A few months ago, the eldest Gasol had hinted that his jersey would be retired. ” There could be a special ceremony next season. I talked about it with the franchise and the Buss family, we are all very excited. It is difficult to anticipate such a moment, but if it happens, it will be very emotional. I know it will be very difficult to control myself. But I’m very excited that something like this could happen. »
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Double NBA champion (2009, 2010), triple All-Star (2009, 2010, 2011) and triple member of an All-NBA team (2009, 2010, 2011) with the Lakers, Pau Gasol has undoubtedly lived the best years of his career in “Purple & Gold”. Turning bonus statistics of 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks per game (52% on shots and 78% on free throws), in six and a half seasons played alongside Kobe Bryant (2008-2014 ).
This March 7, 2023, Gasol will become the 11th player to have his jersey retired by Los Angeles, after Elgin Baylor (#22), Jerry West (#44), Wilt Chamberlain (#13), Gail Goodrich (#25), Magic Johnson (#32), Jamaal Wilkes (#52), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#33), James Worthy (#42), Shaquille O’Neal (#34) and Kobe Bryant (#8 + #24).
As for the other Europeans to have their shirts retired, they are Drazen Petrovic (Nets) posthumously, Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac (Kings), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cavaliers), Tony Parker (Spurs) and Dirk Nowitzki (Mavs) .
