A Pau Gasol he no longer had many peaks to conquer in a career of legend in the world of basketbut this Saturday he crowned a new and impressive summit with his entry into the Hall of Famea milestone that no Spanish player had achieved so far.
The hero from Sant Boi joined coaches Pedro Ferrándiz and Antonio Díaz-Miguel as the only Spaniards to have his name inscribed on The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
To the mecca of baskets, the city of Springfield (Massachusetts, USA) where James Naismith created this sport in 1891 as little more than a pastime for young people during the winter, Gasol attended, receiving tribute from the global basketball community, surrendered to his achievements within but also off the field.
“This is a testament to the support, guidance and inspiration so many have given me during my basketball journey.”said the Catalan in his speech at Springfield’s Symphony Hall.
Accompanied by his entire family (including his brother Marc), wearing a dark suit and visibly emotional, Gasol was inducted into the Hall of Fame by a legend like Toni Kukoc.
His other presenter was going to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but the legendary Los Angeles Lakers player was unable to attend the ceremony due to health problems.
Gasol reviewed in detail each and every one of the support he received over the years to reach the top of basketball and be able to live a dream evening like this.
Hall of Fame Family ???????????? pic.twitter.com/8M7NmFqaeV
— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) August 12, 2023
“Many have contributed to me being here today, but no one has done it like my family,” he told the thank your parents for introducing him to the world of basketball and for supporting him from his first steps by taking him to training.
He also had a very affectionate note for his brother Marc and ironized that they are the only brothers who have been traded in the NBA (Pau went to the Lakers in an operation that took Marc to the Memphis Grizzlies).
Thus, Pau highlighted his pride in the successes he shared with Marc in the Spanish team and also recalled one of the “most special” days in his NBA career: the initial leap in the 2015 All-Star in which he was measured his brother in the emblematic Madison Square Garden in New York.
kobe in memory
Double NBA champion with the Lakersa transfer that changed his “career” and his “life”, Gasol left the most emotional moment of his speech when talking about the disappeared Kobe Bryant, with whom he formed a memorable duo in the purple and gold franchise.
“There I was able to meet the person who raised my game like no one else, who taught me what it takes to win at the highest level, who showed me how hard you have to work and the mentality you have to have to be the best. “, he claimed.
“I would not be here without you, brother. There is nothing I would like more than to have you and Gigi (his daughter also deceased) with us today. I miss you and I love you,” he added in front of an auditorium in which Vanessa was in the audience. Bryant, Kobe’s widow.
Gasol also remembered the Spanish team (“the family”), his great friend Juan Carlos Navarro (“a special player with a special talent”), how it inspired him to see the “Dream Team” at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games and the pioneering European players who dared to cross the Atlantic to play in the NBA when it was crazy and reckless with little chance of success.
Gasol mentioned several of those adventurers, such as Dražen Petrović and Arvydas Sabonisbut that list began with a very special name: that of Fernando Martín, the first Spaniard to set foot on the courts of the NBA.
A memorable 2023 for Gasol
43-year-old Gasol has lived an extraordinary 2023 full of emotions, since his entry into the Hall of Fame happened just five months after he The Lakers will retire their jersey with the number 16.
On a splendid night for European basketball, Gasol was received into the Hall of Fame along with the German Dirk Nowitzki and the french Tony Parkerthree key figures in the internationalization of the NBA and the ‘godfathers’ of the current generation of Europeans who are sweeping the basketball elite (Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo…).
The Spanish power forward was one of those Europeans who broke down barriers in the NBA that previously seemed insurmountable and, for example, he was the first non-American player to be chosen rookie of the year in the best league on the planet.
In addition, Gasol also shared tonight with other illustrious honorees of basketball as Dwyane Wade, Becky Hammon o Gregg Popovich.
A six-time NBA All-Star, Gasol’s amazing career cannot be fully understood without his fabulous and exciting career with the Spanish team, with which he won the 2006 World Cup, the 2009, 2011 and 2015 Eurobaskets and three medals. Olympic (silver in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and bronze in Rio 2016).
Already with his name in the Hall of Fame, this unforgettable day for Gasol was also a party at the top of the NBA with names in capital letters from the past and present of the league among the attendees such as Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, Jayson Tatum, Steve Nash, Pat Riley, Allen Iverson or the Argentine Manu Ginóbili.
2023-08-13 06:38:49
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