People are complex, multi-layered and nuanced. It’s why the longstanding cliché that likens human beings to onions holds up so well. But, occasionally, an anecdote can succinctly capture the essence of a person. I found this to be the case for one such story about basketball legend Pau Gasol. Barcelona, Spain, in the year 1991: an 11-year-old Gasol, the son of a doctor mother and nurse father, and an avid NBA fan from afar, watches with the rest of the world as his hero Magic Johnson announces that he is HIV-positive – a diagnosis which, at the time, is perceived as a death sentence. In that moment, a moved Gasol makes up his mind to follow his parents into the medical profession and seek out a cure for Aids.
Gasol, the eventual two-time NBA champion, six-time All Star and three-time Olympic medalist who is set to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night, clearly ended up on a path that led him away from professional healthcare (although he did complete a year of medical school before he was forced to choose between the two). But that glimpse into a moment from his childhood tells you everything about who Gasol is, at his core.
