Follow usPau Gasol joined the Los Angeles Lakers over 15 years ago with the firm ambition to make them contenders and his dedication payed off, as they eventually became champions.
Gasol played alongside Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and their legacy rests firmly in the team’s hall of fame.
The Lakers retired Gasol’s No. 16 jersey on Tuesday night, honoring the 7-foot tall Spaniard who spent the best seasons of his 18-year NBA career with Bryant in Los Angeles. The Lakers reached three straight NBA Finals after Gasol’s arrival in February 2008, winning championships in 2009 and 2010.
“I think I’ve done as good as I could to really embrace it and savor it, but tonight really exceeds any dream or expectation that I’ve had,” the emotional Gasol said before the game while wearing one championship ring on each hand. “It means so much, and obviously with Kobe up there, it just adds something meaningful and powerful and sad and happy and painful and joyful. It’s a lot of things.”
“It’s been my honor to wear this jersey, to play for this franchise and to help this team. … I would have never in a million years believed a day like this could come. It just tells you to never say never. Just push yourself every day to be the best that you can be.”
This 17-time NBA champion franchise typically only retires the numbers of players in the Hall of Fame, and Gasol is a first-time finalist for the honor this year with a strong chance of making the cut. Gasol made three of his six career All-Star teams during his time with Los Angeles while averaging 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Gasol’s jersey is the 13th number to be retired by the Lakers honoring 12 players in total. Bryant’s early-career No. 8 and late-career No. 24 are both retired.
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