The Sant Boi Town Hall woke up on Friday morning with a giant Pau Gasol shirt. This is the tribute that the Barcelona town wanted to pay to its prodigal son, who will experience one of the most special days of his career on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. In the early morning of March 7-8, at the Lakers-Grizzlies, The Los Angeles franchise will retire the shirt with which it won two NBA rings.
Gasol will become the 12th player to see his shirt, with the 16 on his back, at the top of the Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as Staples Center. There they already shine Jamaal Wilkes (52), Jerry West (44), James Worthy (42), Shaquille O’Neal (3. 4), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33), magic johnson (32), Gail Goodrich (25), Elgin Baylor (22), wilt chamberlain (13) and kobe ​​bryantwho has retired his two numbers, 8 and 24.
Gasol landed in the Lakers on February 1, 2008 in a transfer that involved his brother Marc, whose rights went the other way: from Los Angeles to Memphis. In the six and a half seasons that he was in the Los Angeles franchise, he won two rings (2009 and 2010) and played another final —in his first season—, which the Lakers lost to the Celtics.
He has not only left his mark on the Lakers, but also in the NBA. The Hawks selected him No. 3 in the 200 draft.1, but his rights came that same night to the Memphis Grizzlies. Best rookie of the season, he made his debut in an All Star Game in 2006 and in the 2015 All-Star Game he lived a magical moment when he starred in the first initial jump between brothers. Altogether, dNBA rings, six times all star and two, in the second quintet of the League for a player who could receive another award to his career in a few weeks: on April 1st the new promotion of the Springfield Hall of Fame will be announced and Gasol has many ballots to be among the chosen ones.