LThe feeling is a mixture of joy, pride, respect and admiration, like when the panda’s colleague triumphs and the rest nudge each other to say, “see, what a phenomenon!”, and then fight to go to his coronation. This Tuesday (early Wednesday morning in Spain), Pau Gasol you will see how your shirt with the ’16’ of the Lakers climb to the top of Crypto.com Arena, the pavilion of the Lakers, one of the historical franchises of the NBA. It will be at halftime in the game against the Grizzlies, another of the Catalan teams in American professional basketball. None of the friends wanted to miss it. Generation mates and other Spanish internationals will be in Los Angeles, at the party with the idol. Navarro, Raúl López, Garbajosa, Felipe Reyeswith his family, Jose Calderon They wanted to share this unique moment in the history of Spanish basketball. No one better to reflect on what Pau’s latest feat means.
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Pau enters another dimension
Raul Lopez He accompanied him in Pau’s first seasons in the NBA. The Catalan point guard was the third Spanish basketball player to make the leap to the best basketball league in the world after Fernando Martin and Gasol. A fan of basketball, a student of the sport he loves, a heavenly player with a talent rarely seen in Spain, he now runs a technical school in Bilbao. He has worked with Ricky, with Marc and with Pau, among others. For Raúl about Gasol “it is entering another dimension, there are few honors greater than this. I sincerely believe that in Spain the value of this act is not given. Pau will be forever with names that are the history of the NBA and basketball. For me it’s officially going down in history.”
I think that in Spain it will not be given the dimension that this act deserves
Juan Carlos NavarroMeanwhile, he will leave his work in the offices in the hectic season of Barça to make a parenthesis that is an oasis among so much tension. “For me it is an honor to be with him, to experience it firsthand,” says Juan Carlos, who always thought that Pau would succeed in the NBA. “It was clear to me. I knew I would do well there. He dumped me in 2008 and I always say, jokingly, that I will never forgive him. If the Lakers notice you… Now it’s part of their story. It is not to be believed“.
I always tell him that as a joke, but I won’t forgive him for ditching me in Memphis to sign for the Lakers. He left to make history
Philip Reyes, ambassador of Real Madrid basketball, has taken his partner and children to what looks like a party at Disney. “How could I not be there? It’s a friend’s historic moment,” says the former player, a partner in the Juniors of Gold and in a thousand battles that turned into 10 medals with the senior team and three with the youth team. “To me, if I was just a basketball fan and had never played it, it would already be amazing.. But the fact is that I was a professional player for many years and I played with Pau, of whom I consider myself a friend. So I’m living all this so great with tremendous pride, with great joy. He deserves it, is what I can say.”
He is an inspiration for everyone, for Spanish sport and I would say also for society. The way in which he faced all the challenges and reached them
Example for society
Jorge Garbajosawho also played in the NBA for several seasons and with Pau in the national team, will be the institutional representation in Los Angeles as President of the Spanish Basketball Federation. Garba highlights the inspiring role of Gasol in the successes of basketball and, by extension, of Spanish sport. “He is an inspiration for everyone, for his teammates, for Spanish sport and I would say even for our country. Pau’s ability to excel and to successfully face one challenge after another He is an example for society.”
Garba believes that the withdrawal of Pau’s shirt It is the last great conquest of Spanish basketball. “It is a source of pride for our basketball. The fact that Pau’s jersey is at the top of such an emblematic court means that we are all represented, in a very small part.”
It’s not that they remove your shirt, it’s that the Lakers do it. Pau’s name will be together with others we dreamed of as a child: Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Jabbar. He is the one who doesn’t go anymore “
Jose Calderon arrives Monday afternoon in Los Angeles from New York. She has made a hole in his work in the Front Office of the Cavs to be with Pau and attend the ceremony. “It’s the highest honor you can get in America, short of the Hall of Fame.. In this case, it is also that the Lakers withdraw it. Pau will forever be together with names that we have all dreamed of: Magic, Jabbar, Kobe, Shaq…” Calde highlights how difficult it is to be appreciated in the United States at this level. “It is a terrible show of respect . In Spain it has already received all the recognition, but they do this to you in the United States. Is not easy. For any child who plays basketball, getting to the NBA is not easy, succeeding is very difficult and having your jersey removed is, let’s say, he doesn’t go anymore “.
model of all
For Ricky RubioMVP of the last World Cup and already recovered after his serious knee injury to return to activity with the Cavaliers, Pau is simply a reference. “He has been a model for many. When we met in 2006, I had won the European Cadet and Pau the World Cup. For me it was a very special moment. I have copied many things he has done, off the track, but also on His way of leading This is a player who has always competed to win. With Pau it’s not about being the bestHe has tried to be the best he could be and has surrounded himself with a team for it”. Ricky celebrates the retirement of the jersey. “He was decisive in the ‘back to back’ of the Lakers with his great performance. In such a historic franchise, this gesture has double value. Paul deserves it. He has marked an era in Spanish sport, he marked the way for the milestones that came later.”
The first time I saw him I was mopping and he played with those of the 80’s generation in Tenerife. I lived very close to his explosion. Obviously his conditions are unique, but without him, we wouldn’t have been so encouraged to go to the NBA.”
He thinks the same Sergio Rodriguezwho played in the NBA for four seasons, believes that the eldest of the Gasols made the impossible possible. “I lived very closely the explosion of the generation of the 80s. Before the Junior World Cup that they won, I played in the children’s club and they came to Tenerife to play some friendlies. I passed the mop. I followed them a lot. Then their explosion came, first in the ACB, where he came to dominate, and later in the NBA. Obviously his conditions were unique but what was impossible for a Spanish player became possible thanks to Pau. Now his shirt is being taken off and the Lakers are taking it away. He hasn’t played there for many years, but he left his mark with both rings“.
