The Los Angeles Lakers have won 17 NBA championships largely thanks to their rich tradition of elite big men.
It started with George Mikan in Minneapolis and continued over the decades with Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and now Anthony Davis.
In 2008, the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, who immediately took them from mediocrity to title contention.Although he was one of the best big men in the league, he has always been underappreciated, even by Lakers fans.
But those days may be coming to an end soon. Gasol is a candidate to be voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Pau Gasol has been announced as a candidate for the 2023 Hall of Fame Class 💜 pic.twitter.com/i6krEYZ2xw
— Kobe Highlights & Motivation (@kobehighlight) December 21, 2022
Gasol’s resume is nothing short of stellar: six NBA All-Star selections, two selections apiece to the All-NBA second team and third team, a Rookie of the Year award in 2002 and, of course, two world championships in 2009 and 2010.
But the Spaniard also boasts an impressive resume when it comes to playing for his native country. That resume includes one FIBA World Cup title, two silver medals and one bronze medal in the Olympics and three EuroBasket titles.
Perhaps the highlight of his career came in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals when he once and for all proved he wasn’t soft by grabbing 18 rebounds to help the Lakers defeat the Celtics, 83-79.
The Lakers will retire Gasol’s No. 16 jersey on March 7, regardless of whether he gets into the Hall of Fame in 2023.
