During his seven seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol was a magnificent player, but he was sometimes underrated and underappreciated, even by his own team’s fans.
After he left the team in 2014, it sometimes seemed as if its fans had almost forgotten about him. But this past season, they showed their love for him when he got his No. 16 jersey retired during an emotional halftime ceremony.
Days from now, Gasol will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It’s something that likely wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been traded to the Lakers.
Then-Lakers head coach Phil Jackson played a big role in unlocking his potential. Gasol recently opened up about how much the “Zen Master” meant and still means to him.
Via Lakers Nation:
“Phil is so unique in a way that he is. He’s known to figure out a way to get the best out of his players, understand how he can poke them and motivate them and see what’s too far, what’s too little and he can fine-tune that,” he said. “Loved how spiritual and intellectual he is. I love his whole demeanor, really. Even though sometimes he can get under your skin and he would do that purposely. He would get a kick out of it. It’s just how he was, how he is.
“But I loved continuing to see him over the years. And every time pretty much that I come to L.A., we find time to get together and have lunch and we talk and it’s great. I tell him I love him, I hug him. I’m trying to go visit him in Montana and spend some time in the mountains, but hopefully, we’ll make that happen soon. He was doing some work last year, didn’t happen. I go back in the summers to Spain, most of the time, so it’s hard during that summertime where Montana is blossoming I guess. But I still don’t I don’t mind. I won’t visit because of the weather, I want to spend time with him. That’s really what I care about. So it’s been great.”
When Gasol arrived in L.A. midway through the 2007-08 season, he seamlessly fit into Jackson’s triangle offense and picked it up very quickly. The Lakers, who had been mediocre for the past few years, instantly became contenders, and Gasol and Kobe Bryant led them to three straight NBA Finals appearances and back-to-back world titles.
