New award for Pau Gasol: the Spanish player, who will see his shirt hanging at the top of the Crypto Arena on March 7, is accumulating tributes on the Weekend of the Stars. He was the coach of Team Pau in Rising Stars, a team that also emerged victorious. It was also announced that he was a finalist for the Hall of Fame in the class of 2023.. And now it has been made public that she will receive a new award: it will be the Kobe & Gigi Bryant Advocacy Award, which recognizes her constant support for women’s basketball. In addition and on the same day, she has received the first Bob Lanier Award for Community Service.
Pau Gasol will be the second recipient of the award after Chris Paul was given its inaugural award in 2022. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant will present the award to Pau during the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Utah on Sunday, February 19, 2023in which it will be a very emotional moment due to the relationship that the former player had with the Black Mamba and the one he continues to maintain with Vanessa and her daughters.
The award is a clear tribute to both Kobe and his daughter Gianna, who died on January 26, 2020 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. The tributes to the one who was the Lakers guard for 20 years are constant and it is certain that he will be very present at the Pau jersey retirement ceremony on March 7which will be full of emotion and which is the culmination of a legendary career.