Pau Gasol - Hall of Fame Basketball Player

Pau Gasol
Born (1980)

Hall of Fame Induction: 2023

Card Shown: 2021-22 Panini
Immaculate Marks of Greatness

Position: C/PF
Height: 7’0″

Pau Gasol was an outstanding international basketball player from Spain who transitioned to the NBA where he had a stellar career. Pau may be best known for teaming with Kobe Bryant to lead the Los Angeles Lakers back to glory by winning two more NBA championships for the storied franchise. During his NBA career, he continued to star for Spain in international competition. He was the best player on two separate silver-medal-winning Spanish Olympic teams that challenged the USA in the final game.

Awards and Honors

Pau was selected with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. The Vancouver Grizzlies acquired Gasol in a draft day trade and he went on to be selected to the 2001-02 NBA All-Rookie First Team and to win the 2001-02 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He was the first non-American to win this award.
After his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, Gasol teamed with Kobe to win two consecutive NBA championships, in 2009 against the Orlando Magic and in 2010 against their rival the Boston Celtics.
Pau was a six-time All-Star during his eighteen-year NBA career. He was also selected to four All-NBA teams.
Gasol led Spain to three medals in the Olympics, silver medals in 2008 and 2012 and a bronze medal in 2016. Teammates on his medal-winning teams, who also played in the NBA, included his brother Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, and Ricky Rubio.
Pau also won one FIBA World Cup title and three EuroBasket titles. In 2017, Gasol became EuroBasket’s all-time leading scorer, overtaking Tony Parker.

Points of Interest

Gasol was the fourth player in NBA history to tally 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists, and 1,500 blocks.
Pau was inspired by the 1992 Dream Team which won the gold medal in his native city of Barcelona, Spain. He named Toni Kukoc as one of the players that he looked up to when he was younger.
Interestingly, when Gasol was traded by Memphis to the Lakers on February 1, 2008, the Grizzlies received the draft rights to Pau’s brother Marc as part of the trade. Marc would go on to play in the NBA for thirteen seasons, be selected an All-Star three times, win NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and win one NBA championship during his career. He ended up back with the Lakers for his final year in the league.
Pau was selected as the 2011-12 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award recipient. The award is given annually to a player who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community. Pau served as an ambassador for the UNICEF organization and worked to improve the nutrition and education of children around the world.
Gasol’s number 16 jersey was retired by the Lakers in a ceremony on March 7, 2023 at halftime of a game against his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies.

Statistics

Pau Gasol Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com

Personal Autograph Interactions

My son Joshua and I had the opportunity to briefly meet Pau at the 2020 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. Pau was there to support the Bryant family and honor former teammate and friend Kobe Bryant at his posthumous enshrinement. After the enshrinement ceremony, Pau was up on the stage with the Bryant family and others. My son caught his eye and held up a card that he was hoping to get signed by the basketball legend. Pau ended up coming down, signing the 2012-13 Panini Signatures Stars card for both my son and me (mine is pictured below), and taking a selfie with my son (with masks for Covid). As always, Pau was kind and generous with his time to help make our Hall of Fame weekend experience more memorable.

When we returned for the 2023 Hall of Fame Induction weekend, Pau was one of the players being enshrined into the Hall. The first autograph we got of Gasol during the weekend was in the lobby of the Mohegan Sun. Joshua and I were in the first five people who approached Pau to get something signed. He tried to say that he would sign down the line in the order that the people had arrived, but the “herd” that eventually surrounded Pau kept shoving items up near his face. We waited patiently where we had started and I think Gasol may have heard me tell Josh that I wondered if Pau would notice that we were waiting calmly for our turn and not being pushy like so many others. He may indeed have heard me because Joshua and I ended up being the next two cards that he turned to sign. The card that he signed for us in the lobby was the 2010-11 Panini Timeless Treasures numbered out of 399.

Pau also signed for us at the official Panini autograph signing, where we had a ticket and everything was much more relaxed and orderly than it had been in the hotel lobby. At the signing, I got the 2012-13 Panini Past and Present Dual Patch card of Pau and his brother Marc Gasol, who also starred in the NBA. Later that night, at the Awards Gala, we were able to get Marc to sign our card, creating a beautiful dual signed autograph card.

Thank you Pau and Marc!