Pau Gasol S�ez (7'0" 2.12 m, born July 6, 1980 in Sant Boi, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) is a famous Spanish/Catalan basketball player. He is a native of Sant Boi, Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. The son of a medical doctor, Gasol played in Spanish [[Asociaci�n de Clubs de Baloncesto|ACB League]] for FC Barcelona, where he had an average of 11.3 points per game. He now plays in the NBA for the Memphis Grizzlies, where he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 2002.
Gasol is averaging over 18 points a game with the Grizzlies and has often been compared with fellow European players Toni Kuko? and Dirk Nowitzki. He plays for Spain's national basketball team, and is already considered by many fans in his home country to be the best basketball player ever from his country. Remarkably, though, he maintains that his top goal in life is to follow in his family's footsteps and become a medical doctor in the future, too.
He has a younger brother, Marc, who's also a basketball player currently playing for FC Barcelona.
Player profile[]
Gasol is a very gifted low-post scorer who regularly scores 20 points a night. He sports a nice hook shot, can score outside and inside, and also is near-ambidextrous. He can reasonably hit his free throws, averaging at about .750 (a high figure for a "big man"). He has also averaged 1.9 blocks and 8.4 rebounds per game in his career.
On February 9, 2006, for the first time in his career, Gasol was selected to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas as a reserve center for the Western Conference.
He was the first Spanish basketball player as well as the first Grizzlies player to ever make it to the NBA All-Star Game, and also holds the Grizzlies record for most points scored in a single game, with 44 on February 27, 2006.
His mother is called Marisa and his father is called Augusti. He is involved with a lot of community work organised through the Memphis Grizzlies.
Other titles[]
Spanish national team[]
- Junior European Champion with Spain (1998)
- Junior World Champion with Spain (1999)
- 3rd place in European Championship (2001)
- 2nd place in European Championship (2003)
- 5th place in World Championship (2002)
- 5th place in Olympic games -Diploma- (Athens 2004)
FC Barcelona[]
- Spanish ACB League Champion (2001)
- Spanish Copa del Rey Champion (2001)
- Most Valuable Player in ACB league (2001)
- Most Valuable Player in Copa del Rey (2001)
See also[]
External links[]
ca:Pau Gasol de:Pau Gasol es:Pau Gasol fr:Pau Gasol gl:Pau Gasol it:Pau Gasol tr:Pau Gasol