Pau Gasol

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Basketball player
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol on April 12, 2014 (cropped) .jpg
Player information
Full name Pau Gasol Sáez
birthday 6th July 1980 (age 40)
place of birth Barcelona , Spain
size 213 cm
Weight 113 kg
position Center / Power Forward
NBA draft 2001 , 3rd pick, Atlanta Hawks
Clubs as active
1999-2001 SpainSpain FC Barcelona
2001-2008 United StatesUnited States Memphis grizzlies
2008-2014 United StatesUnited States Los Angeles Lakers
2014-2016 United StatesUnited States Chicago Bulls
2016-2019 United StatesUnited States San Antonio Spurs
2019 United StatesUnited States Milwaukee Bucks
2019 United StatesUnited States Portland Trail Blazers
National team 1
2001–0000 Spain 147 games
1 As of November 17, 2016
Pau Gasol medal table

Basketball (men)

SpainSpain Spain
Olympic games
silver 2008 Beijing Spain
silver 2012 London Spain
bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Spain
World Championship
gold 2006 Japan Spain
European Championship
bronze 2001 Turkey Spain
silver 2003 Sweden Spain
silver 2007 Spain Spain
gold 2009 Poland Spain
gold 2011 Lithuania Spain
gold 2015 France Spain
bronze 2017 Turkey Spain

Pau Gasol Sáez (born July 6, 1980 in Barcelona ) is a Spanish basketball player . He was most recently under contract with the Portland Trail Blazers in the North American League NBA . Gasol is considered the best Spanish and one of the best European players in basketball history. His brother Marc Gasol also plays in the NBA, with the Toronto Raptors .

career

Early years and time in Spain

Pau Gasol was born in Barcelona and moved to Sant Boi de Llobregat in eastern Catalonia with his parents and his one-year-old brother Marc when he was six . He began his basketball career in the team at his school, the Col.legi Llor in Sant Boi. His first club was CB Cornellà , in his youth he was still used as a point guard .

For the 1997/98 season Gasol moved to the offspring of FC Barcelona , where he finally celebrated his league debut in the first team on January 17, 1999 . In the following season he was an integral part of the professional squad and his sporting breakthrough followed in 2000/01. Gasol, who had to replace the injured star player Rony Seikaly , established himself despite his youthful age and inexperience as the best power forward in the league and led his team to the championship and Copa del Rey double . He himself was elected MVP both in the cup and in the play-offs for the championship . His outstanding achievements did not go unnoticed.

Gasol was elected third in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks and shortly thereafter given to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim . The Spaniard was at that time the player trained outside the United States , which was selected in the NBA draft process at the highest level.

Memphis Grizzlies (2001-2008)

In his first season with the Memphis Grizzlies, Gasol took on the role of the leading player, played all 82 games of the season and was also the first non-US American in NBA history to be awarded averages of 17.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per encounter Rookie of the Year chosen. He also took part in the NBA Rookie Challenge as one of the best debutants and was voted into the 2001/02 All-Rookie First Team .

Gasol, who quickly established himself as the leading player and face of the Grizzlies, led his team into the play-offs for the first time in the history of the young team in the 2003/04 season , where, however, the San Antonio Spurs in the first round with 0: 4 subject. With the same result, the team from Memphis should also be eliminated in the play-offs in the two following seasons. Gasol himself stood out in particular in 2005/06 , where he was allowed to take part in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time and finished the main round with 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.9 blocks per game.

The following year Gasol missed the start of the season due to a foot injury that he sustained at the 2006 World Cup , but was able to increase his individual statistics again in the remaining 59 games of the season. His team, however, ended the season with only 22 wins and did not reach a play-off place.

On February 1, 2008 Gasol was transferred to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Kwame Brown , Javaris Crittenton and Aaron McKie . In this swap, the Grizzlies also received the transfer rights for Pau's brother Marc Gasol and the first round selection rights in the draft of 2008 and 2010 from the Lakers .

Gasol set numerous records during his six and a half years with the Grizzlies. When he left, he was the Grizzlies player with the most games and minutes played and led the statistics categories of baskets used, points, rebounds (offensive and defensive) and blocks.

Los Angeles Lakers (2008-2014)

Gasol at the Lakers (2013)

The Lakers, who had not been very convincing until then, achieved first place in the Western Conference after Gasol's commitment in the 2007/08 NBA season and fought their way through the play-offs to the final series, in which they won 2: 4 failed at the Boston Celtics . Thanks in part to the Spanish forward, the Lakers subsequently became one of the best teams in the league.

In the 2008/09 NBA season , Gasol played another strong season. Of 82 games he was on the field 81 times and was again elected to the All-Star Team of the Western Conference. In this season, the Lakers again fought for first place in the West and overall second place in the NBA. At the end of the season he was elected to the All-NBA Third Team. The Lakers reached the final series in the play-offs, but this time they clearly won 4-1 against Orlando Magic .

A year later, in the 2009-10 NBA season , Gasol was elected to the All Star Team of the Western Conference for the second year in a row. Just like he was called back to the All-NBA Third Team. In the 2010 playoffs, he was able to advance to the NBA final with the Lakers for the third time in a row. In the final series, his team met the Boston Celtics as they did two years earlier. This time Gasol and the Lakers were just able to prevail with 4: 3.

On November 18, 2012 Gasol succeeded as the 124th player in the NBA overall, the tenth foreign player and the third European player to break the 15,000 point mark. In the Lakers game against the Brooklyn Nets on November 27, 2013, he threw 21 points and overtook Detlef Schrempf (15,761 points) in the list of the best basketball players in the NBA . In the 115: 137 defeat of the Californians against the Denver Nuggets, Gasol scored 25 points and exceeded the 16,000 point mark as the second European and 98th player in NBA history.

Pau Gasol (2015)

Chicago Bulls (2014-2016)

After the 2013-14 NBA season , Gasol had been linked as a free agent with several clubs, but ultimately decided to move to the Chicago Bulls . In the Bulls' game against the Toronto Raptors on December 22, 2014 (129: 120), Gasol was the 85th player to score his 17,000. Career point in the main round.

Gasol was invited to the NBA All-Star Game in 2015 . There he met his brother Marc, who ran for the western selection. They were the first brother couple in NBA history to face each other in an all-star game. At the end of the season he led the NBA with 54 double doubles and was called up to the All-NBA Second Team. With the Bulls he was eliminated in the second play-off round.

In the 2015/16 NBA season he was invited back to the All-Star game, where he represented his injured teammate Jimmy Butler .

San Antonio Spurs (2016-2019)

In July 2016, Gasol's move to the San Antonio Spurs became known. He signed a two-year contract with the Texans, which should bring him around 27 million euros. In the last game of the 2016/17 season against Utah Jazz on April 11, 2017, Gasol was the 47th player in NBA history to throw his 20,000 main round point. This made him one of only four players in the NBA who had achieved at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and 1,500 blocks (the other three were Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan).

Milwaukee Bucks (2019)

On March 3, 2019, 38-year-old Gasol joined the Milwaukee Bucks after agreeing to split with the Spurs two days earlier. He had only played 27 games (with an average of 12.2 minutes and 4.2 points) for the Texans in the 2018/19 season . The reason for this was a fatigue fracture in the left foot. For Milwaukee he came to three games before ending the season prematurely due to foot and ankle problems.

Portland Trail Blazers (2019)

After Gasol's return to FC Barcelona was discussed in the summer of 2019, according to media reports, the Spaniard signed a contract with the Portland Trail Blazers at the end of July . On November 20, 2019, the Spaniard was removed from Portland's squad. Due to the after-effects of a foot operation, Gasol had not played for the team until then.

National team

Gasol in the jersey of the Spanish national team

Gasol played successfully for his country as a teenager. As part of the Spanish Golden Generation , he celebrated tournament victories at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament and the U18 European Championship in 1998 and the U19 World Championship in 1999. He and his team finished third in the U20 European Championship in 2000. On August 15, 2001, he made his debut in a friendly against Greece in the Spanish senior team . In the same year he won bronze at the European Championships in Turkey, finished the tournament as the best scorer and rebounder of the Spanish team and was also elected to the all-tournament team.

After a silver medal at the EM in 2003 , his greatest success to date followed at the 2006 World Basketball Championship in Japan . Gasol won the gold medal with Spain for the first time and was named MVP of the tournament , although he could not take part in the final against Greece due to a partial fracture of the metatarsal bone .

Pau Gasol celebrated another great success at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing , where he and the Spanish selection only reached the USA final - with NBA stars like Kobe Bryant , LeBron James , Carmelo Anthony , Dwyane Wade , Dwight Howard and Jason Kidd in their ranks - after a hard fight with 107: 118 failed.

After a disappointing European Championship at home in 2007 , in which Gasol awarded a decisive throw in the final against Russia a few seconds before the end , two more gold medals with Spain followed at the European Championships in 2009 , where he was also honored as MVP, and in 2011 . At the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London , Gasol acted as the flag bearer for the Spanish delegation. Originally, this honor was to be bestowed upon Rafael Nadal ; However, he had to cancel his participation due to injury.

At the 2014 home World Cup, Gasol surprisingly retired as a co-favorite with Spain in the quarter-finals against France. The dream final between Spain and the USA, longed for by many, fell through. Gasol himself averaged a very good 20 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in seven World Cup games.

Style of play

Pau Gasol has extraordinary speed and agility for a player of his size, which makes him a feared opponent, especially on the offensive. Close to the basket he has a large repertoire of post moves and very good footwork. In addition, he is considered a forward with an excellent game overview and passing ability. Especially from the middle distance, but also beyond the three-point line , Gasol has a safe throw, which makes it particularly difficult for his opponents to defend him.

Although he is regularly one of the best rebounders and shot blockers on his team, critics often say that he is too "soft" in his defensive work and that he has problems defending his position under the basket against physically strong opponents.

successes

society

FC Barcelona

Los Angeles Lakers

National team

Personal honors

Others

2009 Pau Gasol was in the eighth season of the TV series CSI: Miami in the episode Tödliche Treffpunkte (orig .: Point of Impact ) in a guest role.

With an annual salary of $ 14.6 million ($ 19 million) in 2012, Gasol was one of the top ten highest paid players in the NBA.

literature

  • Pau Gasol, Jesús Sánchez and Fernando Carreño: Gasol por Pau Gasol: el partido de mi vida . 1st edition. Edebé, Barcelona 2006, ISBN 978-84-236-8085-6 .

Web links

Commons : Pau Gasol  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Memphis Grizzlies Career Leaders. In: basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2012 .
  2. ↑ http://hoopshype.com/social/buzz/player/pau-gasol.html
  3. ↑ http://www.kicker.de/news/basketball/startseite/617997/artikel_grossartig_schroeder-sticht-rondo-und-nowitzki-aus.html
  4. ↑ All-Star Starter Released
  5. ↑ Butler is out, Gasol to the all-star game
  6. ↑ NBA: Pau Gasol joins San Antonio. In: Spiegel Online . July 6, 2016, accessed June 9, 2018 .
  7. ↑ http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/news/pau-gasol-20000-points-spurs-nba-history/nls5xr8kbb1t1xtkbb0z4wfos
  8. ↑ NBA: Official! Pau Gasol moves to the Milwaukee Bucks. In: spox.com. SID / Spox, March 4, 2019, accessed March 5, 2019 .
  9. ↑ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2018/11/29/basketball/nba/spurs-pau-gasol-sidelined-stress-fracture-left-foot/#.Xderoa2X84Y
  10. ↑ https://www.slamonline.com/nba/foot-surgery-sidelines-pau-gasol-for-postseason/
  11. ↑ Erikas Polockas: Pau Gasol could reportedly return to Barcelona. In: TalkBasket.net. July 4, 2019, accessed on July 26, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Trail Blazers Sign Two-Time NBA Champion & Six-Time NBA All-Star Pau Gasol. Retrieved July 26, 2019 .
  13. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/garyphillips/2019/11/20/trail-blazers-waive-pau-gasol-coaching-carmelo-anthony/#577f0865ef60
  14. ↑ Gasol Spanish standard bearer
  15. ↑ fiba.com , accessed on September 17, 2014
  16. ↑ Pau Gasol gets labeled as 'soft' by another opponent. In: sportingnews.com. April 10, 2011, accessed May 18, 2012 .
  17. ↑ Sports image: Top 10: The top earners of the NBA , March 9, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Gasol, Pau
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gasol Sáez, Pau (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION spanish basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH Barcelona , Spain