The end of Pau Gasol era: 'It's the decision I thought over' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

The journey of a legendary Pau Gasol came to an end. Gasol held a press conference this Tuesday in which he announced his retirement from professional basketball.

“Today, I am here to tell you what you have been able to anticipate: I am retiring from professional basketball. It is a difficult decision to make after so many years.

It is a thoughtful decision. You have to know how to change gears and know how to enjoy yourself. I wanted to end up playing healthy, not on crutches and with operations,” said Pau Gasol.

According to Mundo Deportivo, more than a hundred journalists came to the event. There were also many well-known basketball names: Rudy Fernandez, Raul Lopez, Marc Gasol, Felipe Reyes, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Jorge Garbajosa, Juan Carlos Navarro, and others.

In his speech, Pau Gasol dedicated special words to one of the basketball greats, Kobe Bryant: "I want to make a special mention to Kobe Bryant. I'd very much like him to be here but life is sometimes very unfair. He taught me how to be a better leader, a better competitor, what it meant to be a winner."

Before the conference, Jorge Garbajosa told Spanish media: “Pau has not only meant something great for Catalan and Spanish basketball, but he is also one of the greats of world basketball.”

“There will not be other Gasol brothers anymore... nor another Juan Carlos Navarro. But there will be players to aspire for our country to continue achieving important things,” added Carbajosa.

Gasol, 41, was thinking about the future after his last stint with the Spanish national team in the Tokyo Olympic Games. The most realistic destination was FC Barcelona, where Gasol finished last season.

“I don’t see myself playing for another team in Europe other than Barcelona. ​​It wouldn’t make sense to me,” Gasol said three weeks ago. “It depends more on my family and me, we have been in the sport that I love for many years, and that has been and is a part of my life that cannot be replaced.”

Last season, Gasol averaged 4.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 6 PIR in seven EuroLeague games.

Pau Gasol is one of the most decorated basketball players ever. He is a two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, six-time NBA All-Star, and 2002 Rookie of the Year. He has NBA career averages of 17 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 1226 games.

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.

In the international arena, he led Spain to gold medals at the 2006 World Cup and the EuroBasket in 2009, 2011, and 2015.

Gasol also has silver medals from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and 2003, 2007 EuroBasket tournaments. To complete his collection of all colors, Pau has bronze medals from the 2016 Olympics and 2001 and 2017 European championships.

Moreover, the 3rd overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft is a three-time Liga ACB champion (1999, 2001, 2021) and ACB Finals MVP (2001).

Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.