POW Gasol is
the Greatest of All time
(G.O.A.T.)
4 references:
in his role as a model to our new generation
Pau in the far west from Barcelona.
Memphis 2001, Lakers 2008, Bulls 2014-
all the POWER to Pau!
From Rookie of the Year Pau (Pow!) Gasol to Player of the Week (P.O.W.)
The tough art of taking decisions: Life after the LA LAKERS
During the summer of 2014, Pau Gasol faced one of the toughest decisions in his life. With three championship ready teams wanting his signature, Gasol decided to sign with the Chicago Bulls, leaving the San Antonio Spurs, and OKC Thunder in the cold.
1) FROAM AS.com
13 years have passed since those early days back in Memphis, those nights in Beale Street, when you were getting ready for your NBA debut against Detroit Pistons. What do you feel on reflection?
—Ufff… 13 years is a long time? I, however make it 14: yes, 14 seasons that I’ve been playing in the NBA.
—A question for you to dodge! Everyone talks about your motives in moving to Chicago, that it has to do with selling tickets and commercial reasons.
—Before signing here on a three year deal, I spoke to plenty of teams.
—Kevin Durant assures that before moving to Oklahoma City, he claimed that you’d be best suited to a city with “orchestras and theaters”’. So here we are sitting in the Chicago Bulls locker room where Jordan once played following your move from LA…
—The idea was to keep winning. I negotiated every detail and didn’t want to rush into anything and knew that the decision or series of decisions to move from LA should not be rushed. I weighed up each aspect of each team. In the end I opted for Chicago because, as mentioned, they are a team who shares the same ideas of winning, with passion and enthusiasm, everything. It’s a three year contract and it’s now up to me to evaluate things on a year by year basis.
—Tom Thibodeau, your coach at Chicago, has called you a “model professional”…yet he tends not to play you at the decisive, final moments of games. Is this something you’re aware of?
—(Pensive) I’d like to be involved at the end of games to be able to resolve things with the team, that’s obvious. The coach and I have spoken. In order to be on the court at the end of the game, I need to convince Thibodeau. It’s something I see as logical. We’re always looking to improve communication.
2) FRANCE -2015 -Tissot sponsor
Gasol Named EuroBasket 2015 MVP.
In addition to the stratospheric dimension reached in this tournament by Gasol (in the quarter-finals he scored 40 points against France, before an audience of 28,000 spectators in the city of Lille) his commitment to the team, his calm leadership without fuss and desire to excel spread his teammates, which are also good players such as Felipe Reyes, Sergio Rodriguez or Mirotic, and others absent in this tournament like Navarro, Calderón or his brother Marc, all of them very united in and outside the court. It is a silent leadership, based on his work, talent and desire to improve. The Spanish team with Gasol at the top, is always ready to cooperate with the press, signing autographs and distributing smiles.
A well-set head on his shoulders.
Pau Gasol as well as a great sportsman is also an intelligent man, who even began to study medicine, which indicates that his academic record was brilliant. He, also, studied piano and is a lover of classical music, and good friend and admirer of Placido Domingo. Kevin Durant, one of the best players in the NBA did everything possible to bring Gasol to his team in Oklahoma. “It is impossible, he said, to Pau Gasol is important to live in a city with good orchestras and theaters.” It also has a very balanced character, it is difficult to see altered after referee decisions and controversies that could affect him, always use common sense and education.
Pau Gasol as well as a great sportsman is also an intelligent man, who even began to study medicine, which indicates that his academic record was brilliant. He, also, studied piano and is a lover of classical music, and good friend and admirer of Placido Domingo. Kevin Durant, one of the best players in the NBA did everything possible to bring Gasol to his team in Oklahoma. “It is impossible, he said, to Pau Gasol is important to live in a city with good orchestras and theaters.” It also has a very balanced character, it is difficult to see altered after referee decisions and controversies that could affect him, always use common sense and education.
3) The move: March -2015 -Taking decisions -newsok.com
Gasol, Folks!
The game clock showed 4.9 seconds remaining. The scoreboard said OKC led by one.
Chicago had the ball, taking it out near halfcourt, and the Thunder just needed that one last stop.
Mike Dunleavy lobbed an inbounds pass into Pau Gasol, who had his back to the basket and Serge Ibaka defending him on the left block. The moment Gasol caught it, Russell Westbrook dropped down from the left wing to double team. When he did, Gasol fired a touch pass out to E’Twaun Moore, who nailed a game-winning 3-pointer from the left corner.
Some credited Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau for drawing up a textbook play. But the truth is it was all Gasol.
In a documentary produced by HBO Sports last fall, Kevin Durant said a city’s culture was a heavy influencer in Gasol’s decision.
“He was more concerned about the city,” Durant said of Gasol in the documentary. “He’s into, like orchestras and plays.”
Gasol refuted that theory and said it was about basketball.
“No. To me, it was where I would fit best on the court,” Gasol told The Oklahoman. “I’m sure there are musicals and theaters in Oklahoma as well. That wasn’t a difference-maker for me at all. But I do appreciate music and culture. But that was not a difference-maker for my decision.
“I appreciated every team that showed interest,” Gasol said. “And Oklahoma, the Thunder were a team that I highly considered. They were a great option for me as well. But I had to make a tough, tough choice.
4) Updated news- 29th April 2016 .
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver makes the decision and Gasol as an individual player is always a perfect choice.
This will be Pau’s second straight All-Star appearance as a Bull and 6th overall. He will face former teammate Kobe Bryant in what will be Bryant’s final All-Star game.
Gasol is averaging 17.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, ... and 80.9% on free throws. He is as deserving as anyone in the league to be an All-Star and will continue to add to his exceptional Hall of Fame career.
Congrats Pau!
Gasol is a double-double machine, having recorded over 550 double-doubles in his NBA career. On April 2, 2016, he became the 36th player in NBA history to reach the 10,000-point/10,000-rebound mark.[79]
CODA) -2009-The man behind the persona
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Pau Gasol
In a 2009 interview with NBA.com, Pau talked about some of his favorite things.
- His favorite meal is sushi.
- The Spaniard’s favorite movies are Gladiator and Braveheart.
- He has enjoyed television shows such as Friends, Sanford and Son, and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
- His favorite non-basketball sport is tennis, which he played in Spain growing up.
- One of his favorite books is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
- One of his favorite cities besides Barcelona is Vancouver, Canada.
This is interesting because Gasol almost played for the Grizzlies in Vancouver, but the organization soon moved to Memphis.
New Bull Pau Gasol has shown himself to be a very unique, interesting, and intelligent individual off the court.
In that same 2009 NBA.com interview, Gasol said one of his great loves is learning. This is not something you expect to hear from your average NBA player. On the court, he has proven himself to be one of the best big men to play professionally in the past decade.
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