Why Marc Gasol could win the ACB MVP award in his comeback season / News - Basketnews.com

Fourteen years after winning the ACB league season MVP award, Marc Gasol is posting almost identical numbers in the ongoing campaign with Girona.

Credit: M.A. Chazo/Federació Catalana de Basquetbol Credit M.A. Chazo/Federació Catalana de Basquetbol

Ever since he came back to play in the Spanish Liga Endesa with his hometown team ofGirona Basquetafter a 14-year gap,Marc Gasolhas been tearing the league apart.

3-pointers this season

31%6,9Points made:6,9Accuracy:31,2%Place in standings:17Record max:15Record min:4Most made 3FGs:Quino ColomTeamACBStatisticsSchedule

The 37-year-old center took the step he had always said he'd take by returning to his hometown team on December 3, 2021.

Nobody imagined that a few months later, on June 19, Girona would celebrate the play-off final with the victory against Estudiantes, and even more unlikely was to think that Gasol would be the icon of the rebuilt Girona side in the season of his return.

Gasol decided to continue and he's literally carrying the team on his back. His numbers in the first ten Rounds of the ACB league look practically identical to those he put together 14 years ago, when he was named league MVP at the age of 23.

To begin with, he leads the PIR list with an average of 21.1 per game, ahead of Ante Tomic (19.9) and Dragan Bender (19.0).

On the scoring side, Gasol seems to forget that he's 37 and has spent more than a decade in the NBA, as he's played an average of 26.29 minutes, averaging 14.4 points with 57.7% on 2-pointers, 38.5% on 3-pointers, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1 block.

Those figures are practically identical to those of his last season in Girona, where he averaged 16.6 points with 67% 2-point shooting, 37% 3-point shooting, 8.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game, but playing 33.3 minutes.

Now the objective, in addition to making the club grow at a social and institutional level, is to maintain and consolidate it in the ACB. So far, Girona occupy 16th place in the standings with a poor 2-8 record.

In fact, even though Gasol attributes the construction of the team to the work of the entire squad, the truth is that he has been involved in most of the team's transfers this season. From Aito García Reneses to Pierre Oriola or Quino Colom, everyone has stressed that Marc's influence was vital for their arrival.

But as much as he's operating as a player-president -the first in the history of the ACB- Marc Gasol keeps being ambitious on the court. He even gets frustrated when a close game is lost, as happened against Gran Canaria.

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