Pau Gasol

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Gasol was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft, but his rights were traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies. He holds the Grizzlies' franchise record for free throws made and attempted. Following more than six seasons with Memphis, Gasol played for the Los Angeles Lakers (2008–2014), Chicago Bulls (2014–2016), San Antonio Spurs (2016–2019), and Milwaukee Bucks (2019). Internationally, Gasol has won a FIBA World Cup title, three EuroBasket titles, two Olympic silver medals, and an Olympic bronze medal with the Spanish national basketball team. Gasol was named MVP of the 2006 FIBA World Cup and the 2009 and 2015 FIBA EuroBasket. Pau Gasol shares (with Krešimir Ćosić) the record for most EuroBasket MVP awards, with two each. Gasol is also the all-time leading scorer in the EuroBasket. In 2021, he became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 2023, it was announced that Gasol would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In Their Own Story

On March 14, during the 2007–08 season shortly after his trade, Gasol suffered a significant setback when he sprained his ankle in a game against the New Orleans Hornets. He stepped on teammate Vladimir Radmanović's foot in the first quarter, an injury that threatened to derail his immediate impact. Despite x-rays coming up negative, he was expected to miss the remaining three games of the Lakers' road trip. Gasol demonstrated remarkable resilience by returning to the starting lineup just weeks later on April 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers. In that game, he played nearly thirty-two minutes, registering 10 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, proving his durability and commitment to the team's playoff push even while feeling limited by swelling.

Reader's Guide

Gasol began playing basketball as a center with his school team, Llor, and eventually signed with Cornellà. When he was sixteen, he began playing for FC Barcelona's junior team. With Spain's national under-18 team, he won both the 1998 Albert Schweitzer Tournament and the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Gasol made his debut on January 17, 1999, with the senior team of FC Barcelona and played just 25 total minutes in the Spanish ACB League's 1998–99 season, and averaged 13.7 minutes per game in the ACB the next year. However, in his final season in the ACB, Gasol averaged 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game. FC Barcelona was victorious in the Spanish National Cup's 2001 Final's championship game, and Gasol was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. After entering the NBA draft, Gasol was selected third overall in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, who traded his draft rights to the Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the Grizzlies' 27th pick in the draft Jamaal Tinsley.

Did You Know?

• Gasol was the first foreign player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
• He was the first Spanish basketball player and the first Grizzlies player to ever make it to the NBA All-Star Game.
• Gasol holds the Grizzlies' franchise record for free throws made and attempted.
• He is the all-time leading scorer in the EuroBasket.