Pau Gasol is a retired Spanish professional basketball player. He played in Spain for FC Barcelona and later in the National Basketball Association. He was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won two NBA Championships back-to-back.
Player Profile and Personal Life
Pau Gasol Sáez was born on July 6, 1980, in Barcelona, Spain. He stands 213 cm tall and his weight was last listed at 113 kg. He is right-handed and he plays power forward and center.
Gasol is the brother of basketball player Marc Gasol, who also played in the NBA. Both of his parents are tall and both played basketball. Gasol did not initially want to be a basketball player and even considered a career in medicine.
| Position | Power Forward |
| Height / weight | 2.16 m / 113 kg |
| Born | 6 Jul 1980 |
| Nationality |
Spain
|
| Playing Style | Right Handed |
| Nickname | Kung Pow |
| Team History | |
FC Barcelona Basquet
|
2021 |
Milwaukee
|
2019 |
San Antonio
|
2016 - 2019 |
Chicago
|
2014 - 2016 |
Los Angeles
|
2008 - 2014 |
Memphis
|
2001 - 2008 |
In 2019, he married Catherine McDonnell. They have a daughter together named Elisabet Gianna Gasol. His daughter’s middle name is in honor of Kobe Bryant’s daughter Gianna Bryant who died with her father in 2020.
Professional Career
Gasol started his career with his school basketball team. He started playing along with the junior team of Barcelona when he was 16. This team won the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 championship as well as the 1998 Albert Schweitzer tournament.
In the 1998-99 Season, as part of the senior team, Gasol played only 11 total minutes, and in the next year, he had an average of 15 minutes per game. He had an average of 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in less than 24 minutes per game in the last season in Europe.
In 2001 the Spanish National Cup championship was won by Barcelona and Gasol was named Most Valuable Player. After the 2001 Season in Barcelona, Gasol was selected in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks and was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The 2001-02 Season was his NBA debut season. He won Rookie of the Year with the Grizzlies and was chosen in the All-Rookie first team. He was the only player in the team to participate in all 82 games in the season and he had an average of 17.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg.
In the 2005-06 Season, Gasol became the all-time leading rebounder of the franchise.
On February 1, 2008, Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the Lakers’ first win over the Denver Nuggets, he contributed thirty-six points, sixteen rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks.
Gasol was instrumental in helping the Lakers win the 2009 and 2010 NBA Championships. He stayed with the Lakers through 2014 before he was again traded, this time to the Chicago Bulls.
He only played for a season with the Bulls then he moved to the San Antonio Spurs. Gasol found better footing with the Spurs and continued with them through to 2019. In 2019, he played for a short time with the Milwaukee Bucks before retiring from the NBA.
In 2021, he made a brief appearance with FC Barcelona Basquet but eventually retired.
Gasol represented Spain internationally and has Olympic silver and bronze medals in men’s basketball and gold medals in the FIBA World Cup. He also has three EuroBasket gold medals.
Career Highlights
- 2009, 2010 - NBA champion
- 2006, 2009–2011, 2015, 2016 - NBA All-Star
- 2011, 2015 - All-NBA Second Team
- 2009, 2010 - All-NBA Third Team
- 2002 - NBA Rookie of the Year
2002 - NBA All-Rookie First Team
No. 16 retired by the Los Angeles Lakers
- 2001 - All-EuroLeague Second Team
- 1999, 2001, 2021 - Liga ACB champion
- 2001 - Spanish King’s Cup winner
- 2001 - Spanish King’s Cup MVP
- 2001 - ACB Finals MVP
- 2008, 2009 - FIBA Europe Player of the Year
- 2004, 2009 - Mister Europa Player of the Year
- 2008–2010, 2015 - Euroscar Player of the Year
- 2006 - FIBA World Cup MVP
- 2014 - FIBA World Cup Top Scorer
- 2009, 2015 - FIBA EuroBasket MVP
- 2003, 2009, 2015 - FIBA EuroBasket Top Scorer
- 2006, 2014 - All-FIBA World Cup Team
- 2020 - FIBA EuroBasket Dream Team
Career Statistics
- Points - 20,894 (17.0 ppg)
- Rebounds - 11,305 (9.2 rpg)
Assists - 3,925 (3.2 apg)
- Basketball Hall of Fame as a player, 2023
Medal Record, Men’s basketball, Representing Spain
- Silver - 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing
- Silver - 2012 Summer Olympics London
- Bronze - 2016 Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro
- Gold - 2006 World Cup Japan
- Gold - 2009 EuroBasket Poland
- Gold - 2011 EuroBasket Lithuania
- Gold - 2015 EuroBasket France
- Silver - 2003 EuroBasket Sweden
- Silver - 2007 EuroBasket Spain
- Bronze - 2001 EuroBasket Turkey
- Bronze - 2017 EuroBasket Turkey
