Pau Gasol talks about his jersey retirement and dismissal of Pablo Laso / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP - Scanpix Credit AFP - Scanpix

The Spanish basketball legend Pau Gasol shared his thoughts about his jersey retirement in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena and referred to the Pablo Laso departure from Real Madrid, via AS.com.

Pau Gasol

Position:PFAge:42Height:213 cmWeight:113 kgBirth place:Barcelona, SpainProfileNewsStatistics

"The decision of Real Madrid has surprised me a lot. Real are free to do what they consider but the way the long-term coach has been treated is surprising," said Gasol.

He also made it clear that Chus Mateo can be an ideal replacement for the Royal club bench: "He has shown his worth to take over the position."

Later, the 42-year-old Gasol spoke about the possibility of his No. 16 retirement by the Los Angeles Lakers.

"The ceremony could be arranged next season. I have spoken with the franchise and the Buss family. We are all very excited. It's hard to imagine a moment like this. If it comes, it will be many emotions and be very difficult for me to control myself. I am very excited that it can become a reality."

Until this day, the Lakers have retired Kobe Bryant's No. 8 and No. 24, Wilt Chamberlain's No. 13, Elgin Baylor's No. 22, Magic Johnson's No. 32, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's No. 33, Shaquille O'Neal's No. 34, Jerry West's No. 44, Gail Goodrich's No. 25 and Jamaal Wilkes' No. 52.

Pau Gasol is one of the most decorated international basketball players ever. Across the Atlantic, he is a back-to-back NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010, a six-time NBA All-Star, and 2002 Rookie of the Year.

Gasol is one of just four NBA players to record more than 20,000 points, 11,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists, and 1,500 blocks in a career, joining Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the 2020 Hall of Fame inductees Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.

He has NBA career averages of 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 1226 games.

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