Lakers retire number 16 of Paul Gasol

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers are retiring the number 16 of Pau Gasol of Barcelona, Spain in a ceremony at Crypto.com Arena on March 7 when they host the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol played seven seasons for the Lakers from 2008 to 2014.

In 429 games with the Lakers, Gasol averaged 17.7 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game, 1.4 blocks per game and 3.5 assists per game. He also had a field goal percentage of .522, three point percentage of .263 and a free throw percentage of .780.

A centre and power forward in his time with the Lakers, Gasol won the NBA Finals in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in five games and in 2010, the Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in seven games.

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Also with the Lakers, Gasol was a NBA All-Star three straight years from 2009 to 2011, and won the 2011-12 NBA Community Assist Award. The award is presented to the player that exemplifies community engagement, philanthropy and charity work.

It is interesting that the Lakers are awarding Gasol against the Grizzlies. That is because he began his NBA career with Memphis as he played seven seasons three too from 2001 to 2008. Gasol remains the Grizzlies all-time leader in blocks per game with 1.8.

Pau’s brother Marc Gasol also played for the Grizzlies from 2008 to 2019, and the Lakers in 2020-21. In 2012, 2015 and 2017, Marc Gasol was a NBA All-Star.

Pau Gasol becomes the 12th player to have his number retired by the Lakers. They include Kobe Bryant (number eight and 24), Wilt Chamberlain (number 13), Elgin Baylor (number 22), Gail Goodrich (number 25), Magic Johnson (number 32), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (number 33), Shaquille o’Neal (number 34), James Worthy (number 42), Jerry West (number 44), and Jamaal Wilkes (number 52). The NBA announced last week that they would retire the number six of Bill Russell effective immediately. 

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