Pau Gasol

The two-time NBA champion holds back tears as his No. 16 jersey is lifted into the rafters.

It’s been great to see the game grow globally.” “I’m proud to see that,” Gasol said. Gasol noted that three Europeans now are arguably the top three players in the league: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. “I’m just overwhelmed to see the faces here, all of you,” Gasol said. Gasol choked up while watching the video and standing in that exact spot, wiping tears from his eyes before he spoke to the crowd. The team scheduled the ceremony for halftime of the Lakers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Lakers retired Pau Gasol's No. 16 on Tuesday night. During the ceremony, he paid tribute to longtime teammate and friend Kobe Bryant.

He remained with Los Angeles through the end of the 2013-14 season, and along with Bryant he helped power the Lakers to back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. And he was looking forward to this moment." "I can't go on without talking about the person and the face that I don't see.

With his original team (the Memphis Grizzlies) in town, the Lakers retired the No. 16 jersey of team legend Pau Gasol, who played six and a half seasons in Los ...

With his original team (the [Memphis Grizzlies](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/MEM/memphis-grizzlies/)) in town, the Lakers retired the No. [Marc Gasol](/nba/players/1231870/marc-gasol/), Pau's brother who was part of the trade that got the elder Gasol to Los Angeles, was also in the building. Considering their status as a 17-time champion, entering that club is one of the great honors an NBA player can receive. Former teammate [Jimmy Butler](/nba/players/1646703/jimmy-butler/), who currently plays for the [Miami Heat](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/MIA/miami-heat/) and has a home game tomorrow night, flew to Los Angeles to celebrate Gasol. Sadly, one of Gasol's favorite teammates and the leader of those two Lakers championship teams was missing. [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/LAL/los-angeles-lakers/) are in a critical stretch of their schedule as they attempt to reach the postseason, but on Tuesday, one of the most important nights of the season arrived without having anything to do with what is happening on the court.

A choked-up Pau Gasol has his No. 16 Lakers jersey retired to the rafters next to Kobe Bryant's No. 24 during a ceremony Tuesday night.

He withstood Bryant flattening him in the 2008 Olympics, and then mocking him by placing the U.S. The trade was famously vetoed, but Gasol was deeply wounded, and played three more nondescript Lakers seasons before leaving as a free agent. It was Gasol who helped keep Bryant in a Lakers uniform for the rest of his career. Gasol endured Bryant harassing him during the 2008 Finals in which he was bullied by Kevin Garnett. Gasol was a star in Memphis but he wasn’t a champion. He had a reputation for getting pushed around in the paint. “When he retires, he’ll have his number in the rafters,” Bryant said of Gasol on the video. It was Gasol who helped the Lakers once again become the Lakers. Gasol didn’t stonewall, he sponged. He worked with Gasol in a way that he never could work with Shaquille O’Neal. It was a relationship that enhanced a superstar and saved a dynasty. Standing at center court in a suit and two championship rings, Gasol wept.

The Lakers will retire Pau Gasol's No. 16 jersey at halftime on Tuesday and Gasol couldn't be more honored.

And I know that that’s going to be the triggering point for me. “And obviously being next to Kobe, seeing his name, still emotional. Having my jersey retired and receiving this honor and being with that group of people and incredible achievers, legends, it’s something I could’ve never imagined.” And then obviously not having him here with us, it’s tough. It’s going to be an awesome night.” — Kobe Bryant in 2018 [said](https://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/35793029/pau-gasol-lakers-transformation-playing-kobe-bryant) at a Lakers event in January after Jeanie Buss announced his jersey would be retired in March.

The Lakers retired Gasol's No. 16 jersey Tuesday night, honoring the genteel big man who spent the best seasons of his 18-year NBA career with Bryant in Los ...

It’s been great to see the game grow globally.” “I’m proud to see that,” Gasol said. “I’m just overwhelmed to see the faces here, all of you,” Gasol said. Gasol noted that three Europeans now are arguably the top three players in the league: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. Gasol choked up while watching the video and standing in that exact spot, wiping tears from his eyes before he spoke to the crowd. The team scheduled the ceremony for halftime of the Lakers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Pau Gasol, a finalist for Hall of Fame induction this year, received another high honor on Tuesday when the Los Angeles Lakers retired his No. 16 jersey.

Gasol won [NBA](https://www.hindustantimes.com/topic/nba) championships alongside the late Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010, with the Lakers retiring both of their jerseys as well as Gasol's during the ceremony. Gasol, who is a finalist for the Hall of Fame induction this year, was the subject of a halftime ceremony where Lakers dignitaries participated. The Staples Center was filled with a sense of nostalgia as the Los Angeles Lakers retired Pau Gasol's No.

Sadly, one of Gasol's favorite teammates and the leader of those two Lakers championship teams was missing. Laker legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash ...

With his original team (the [Memphis Grizzlies](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/MEM/memphis-grizzlies/)) in town, the Lakers retired the No. [Marc Gasol](/nba/players/1231870/marc-gasol/), Pau's brother who was part of the trade that got the elder Gasol to Los Angeles, was also in the building. Considering their status as a 17-time champion, entering that club is one of the great honors an NBA player can receive. Former teammate [Jimmy Butler](/nba/players/1646703/jimmy-butler/), who currently plays for the [Miami Heat](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/MIA/miami-heat/) and has a home game tomorrow night, flew to Los Angeles to celebrate Gasol. Sadly, one of Gasol's favorite teammates and the leader of those two Lakers championship teams was missing. [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/LAL/los-angeles-lakers/) are in a critical stretch of their schedule as they attempt to reach the postseason, but on Tuesday, one of the most important nights of the season arrived without having anything to do with what is happening on the court.

The LA Lakers duo helped their side to two championship titles and both of their shirts have now be retired and placed together high in the rafters of the ...

Pablo, Kobe predicted that you and he would be together in the rafters." But I can't go on without talking about the person and the face that I don't see. It was the first time Mrs Bryant had been back to the Crypto.com Arena since her husband's memorial. I love him, I wish he was here with Gigi. "It has really been my honour to wear this jersey to play for this franchise, to help this team, to contribute to this city. I think he will be proud and he was looking forward to this moment.

Vanessa Bryant participated in the tribute to Pau Gasol and sent him a touching message. In it, she revealed that Kobe Bryant predicted that the Spaniard's ...

I'm looking forward to the day when he gets that tribute and gives the speech in the middle of the court in front of all the fans that have supported him. When Pau retires he will have his number at the top of the pavilion," Kobe said in a video. Pau, Kobe predicted that you and he would be together at the top of the arena.

The Lakers honored the Spanish big man at halftime of Tuesday's win over his first NBA franchise, the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I'm proud to see that," Gasol said. It's been great to see the game grow globally." Gasol noted that three Europeans now are arguably the top three players in the league: While Gasol and Bryant immediately formed a dominant partnership, Memphis got a package that included Gasol's younger brother, Marc, who went on to have 11 largely excellent seasons with the Grizz. "I'm just overwhelmed to see the faces here, all of you," Gasol said. Gasol choked up while watching the video and standing in that exact spot, wiping tears from his eyes before he spoke to the crowd. 8 and late-career No. 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. "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," Gasol said before the game while wearing one championship ring on each hand. Gasol thanked Vanessa Bryant during his speech: "Love you, sister. Just push yourself every day to be the best that you can be." The Lakers retired Gasol's No.

The number 16 shirt with which the Spanish player won two NBA titles at the Los Angeles Lakers was ceremoniously retired on Tuesday.

In the end, life and sport put you to the test and condition you with adverse moments. He contributed spinal surgeries at children’s hospitals in every city he played for, visited refugees in Iraq and Syria and vowed to donate $1,000 for every point he scored to help typhoon victims in the Philippines. On Monday, he told the children about the first injury that left a mark on his memory. You want to live up to it and you think that maybe, at some point, it would be nice if your name was there, but you don’t let it go to your head,” says Gasol, who was inspired to reach the NBA after watching the US Dream Team that played in Barcelona, his hometown, at the 1992 Olympics. On Monday, Gasol stated that one of his greatest legacies was reversing the notion that European players are technically stylish but are soft on the court compared to Americans. He had come to LA in February 2008 from Memphis, a team that had posted 20 wins for the season. I got to work to win the following season, the 2008-09 season. I’m very proud,” declares the center, who in turn is following in the trailblazing footsteps of others like Drazen Petrovic, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic and, more recently, Dirk Nowitzki, who arrived in American basketball two years before Pau. The jersey retirement took place at halftime during a game between the Lakers and the Grizzlies. The next day, March 7, Gasol joined the gods of the American professional league after he became the 12th Laker to have his jersey retired. Not even as a boy – the son of two doctors, Agustí and Marisa, who used to play on a court near the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona when he was the same age as the kids who now gawp up at him – did he ever dream that he would reach one of the most prominent teams in the NBA, where he played in three NBA finals and won two consecutive championships, in 2009 and 2010. The franchise transferred Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and Aaron McKie (in addition to the rights to his brother, Marc) to the Grizzlies, in order to get Pau, a center who was the first non-American to win the rookie of the year award, in 2002.

A choked-up Pau Gasol has his No. 16 Lakers jersey retired to the rafters next to Kobe Bryant's No. 24 during a ceremony Tuesday night.

However, despite the bittersweet moment of seeing his number retired beside Kobe's no. 8 and 24, Gasol is proud and honored to receive this recognition for ...

[message](https://www.hindustantimes.com/topic/message), especially since Bryant has been a significant topic of discussion leading up to the [event](https://www.hindustantimes.com/topic/event). However, despite the bittersweet moment of seeing his number retired beside Kobe’s no. Kobe Bryant’s legacy lives on as he delivered a heartwarming pre-recorded message during the Los Angeles Lakers’ jersey retirement ceremony for his dear friend and former teammate Pau Gasol.