Marc Gasol

At 39 years old, Marc Gasol has this physical status:

Marc Gaez (Catalan) - [mazl], Spanish: [masol], born January 29, 1985) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The center is a two-time All-NBA Team member and a three-time NBA All-Star. In 2013, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies, and in 2019 he captured an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors.

In the 2007 NBA draft, Gasol was drafted 48th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. After being smuggish to Memphis in February 2008 in a contract that brought his older brother Pau Gasol to the Lakers, he signed with the Grizzlies and stayed with the franchise until being traded to Toronto in 2019. In 2020, he rejoined the Lakers for a single season.

Gasol has been a regular participant in the Spain national team since 2006. He has earned two Olympic silver medals and two FIBA Basketball World Cup titles. He has won two titles, a silver medal, and two bronze medals in the EuroBasket.

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Early life and career

Gasol was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain. After his older brother Pau joined the Memphis Grizzlies as a child and his parents, he and his parents moved to Germantown, Tennessee, in 2001. Gasol played high school basketball at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis. Following a senior season in which he averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks per game, Nicknamed "The Big Burrito" was proclaimed Mr. Basketball in 2003. Lausanne retired Gasol's number 33 jersey in 2008.

Professional career

Gasol graduated from Lausanne and went to Spain to compete in the Liga ACB for FC Barcelona.

Gasol spent three seasons with Barcelona before moving to Girona in 2006. He was named the ACB Most Valuable Player in 2008, the highest honorable player in the ACB.

Gasol was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 48th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. Pau, his older brother, was traded by the Lakers to the Memphis Grizzlies on February 1, 2008 as part of a trade deal that brought him from the Grizzlies to the Lakers. He signed with the Grizzlies on July 9, 2008. In a season of 53 percent, he set a franchise rookie record for field goal percentage. In 2001–02, Pau held the previous record, which was 51.8 percent. He received NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors after he was crowned in 2012. With a career-best.581 field goal percentage, he averaged 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds as a rookie.

Gasol averaged 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, a career-high 2.5 assists, and 1.68 blocks in 81 games, the 2010–11 season (all starts). In 2011 NBA Playoffs, he scored 15.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.15 blocks, leading the Grizzlies through a 13-game run. Memphis had never won a playoff game before 2011, beating the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference's top-seeded section, then on to a deciding seventh game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In each of Gasol's first three NBA seasons, he led the Grizzlies in field goal accuracy and blocked shots.

Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies on December 14, 2011, extending his deal from four to a four-year, $58 million deal. He was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played January 16-22 on January 23, 2012. For the first time, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time, earning a spot on the Western Conference roster as a reserve for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.

Gasol was one of only six players to score at least 1.5 blocks (1.7 bpg) and 1.0 steals (1.0 spg) in 2012-13. He was the boss of a Grizzlies defense that allowed a league-low 88.7 points per game during the regular season. His +5.4 score difference placed second in NBA centers, and Memphis had a +7.5 rating difference while Gasol was on the court, compared to -3.9 when he was on the bench. In April 2013, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Spanish man to win and the first European to win. ESPN lauded the Grizzlies' ability to create turnovers with Gasol on the court anchoring the defense. He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team. Despite winning Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team due to a new voting system.

Gasol played a career-low 59 games between 2013 and 2014. On November 22, a left MCL sprain suffered against the San Antonio Spurs sidelined him for 23 games from November 25 to January 12.

Gasol made his second NBA All-Star pick, his first All-Star appearance, and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time during the 2014-2015 season. For the 55-win Grizzlies, he averaged 17.4 points to go with 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He scored 30-plus points five times in his first six seasons, but only once. He set career-highs in field goals and attempted, as well as free throws made and attempted. He was the only player in the league with at least 1,300 points, 600 rebounds, and 300 assists.

Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies on a five-year maximum contract worth an estimated $110 million on July 13, 2015. In a 96–84 victory over the Houston Rockets, he earned his first triple-double in his career, with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, marking the first triple-double for the Houston Rockets since 2007, when his brother Pau scored 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. Since missing the second half of the season with a broken right foot, Gasol recorded a new career low for games played with 52.

In a 110–108 double-overtime victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on December 5, 2016, Gasol recorded his second triple-double, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in his second career triple-double. On December 12, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played December 5–11. It was his second year as Player of the Week, and the ninth time a Grizzlies player has been honoured with the weekly award. In a 101-99 victory over the Toronto Raptors on January 25, 2017, he scored a career-high 42 points. For the third time in his career, he was named an NBA All-Star for the third time in his career. In a 103-91 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on March 16, 2017, he achieved his third triple-double in his career with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Gasol lost 116-111 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 2, 2017, giving him 10,000 career points. In a 109-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on January 26, 2018, Gasol scored 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists for his fourth triple-double in his career. Gasol played his 700th NBA game in his career and got off to a 689th start in franchise history, beating Mike Conley Jr. for the most games launched in franchise history.

Gasol beat Zach Randolph (5,612) to become the Grizzlies' all-time career rebound leader in November 2018. Gasol scored at least one 3-pointer in 13 straight games in December, which tied for a career record. In his 14th straight game against the Detroit Pistons on January 2, he set a new record in the first game of January by making a 3-pointer. The streak came to an end at 15 games. In an 118-107 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on January 23, he earned his fifth triple-double in his career with 22 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Gasol was traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for C.J. on February 7, 2019. Miles, Jonas Valanu, Delon Wright, and a 2024 second-round pick are among the 2024 second-round draft picks. In a 104-99 victory over the New York Knicks, he made his Raptors debut two days later, scoring seven points and six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Gasol stepped into the starting center role in Toronto quickly, and his pass-first offensive approach helped the Raptors become the NBA's best 3-point shooting squad in the second half of the season. He was assisting the Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals. In a win, Gasol scored 20 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in his first NBA Finals game. Marc joins Pau and his two championships in 2009 and 2010 as the first pair of brothers to win NBA titles since beating the Golden State Warriors in six games.

Gasol signed with the Toronto Raptors on June 26, 2019, redeeming his $25.6 million player option for the 2019–20 season. Despite only scoring 3 points, Gasol had his best game of the season with 6 rebounds and 9 assists, while still losing Joel Embiid for the first time in his career in a 101-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Gasol signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on November 24, 2020. In a 116–109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on December 22, he made his Lakers debut on December 22, scoringless on his first appearance and one assist. Since being banned COVID-19, Gasol missed nine games mid-season. Since the team bought Andre Drummond, he was moved to the bench. In a Lakers 110-101 win over the Toronto Raptors on April 6, 2021, Gasol had 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. He appeared in 42 games during the regular season but skipped 20 others. He averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 2.3 three-pointer per game, which made 41.0%. In the first round against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers were up 2–1 before losing three straight games and abandoning the playoffs in six games. In Game 6, the Lakers brought Gasol back to the starting lineup, where he was scoreless but finished with seven assists in 18 minutes, hoping to prevent elimination. The Lakers signed center Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan during the offseason.

Gasol was traded back to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021 with a 2024 second round pick in exchange for Wang Zhelin's draft rights, saving the Lakers over $10 million in luxury-tax penalties. However, the Grizzlies had suspended him five days earlier.

Gasol announced on November 25, 2021, that he would play for Bàsquet Girona of the LEB Oro, the club that he founded, until the end of the 2021–22 season. After Girona beat Estudiantes 66–60 in the final of the promotion playoffs, he helped the team advance to the Liga ACB for the first time. In the decisive final game, Gasol scored 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. In 25 appearances for Girona, he averaged 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds.

National team career

Gasol was named in 2006 as a replacement for NBA-draftee Fran Vázquez on the Spain national team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. Spain defeated the gold medal in Japan as well as at the EuroBasket 2009. He also received silver medals at the EuroBasket 2007, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. At the 2019 FIBA World Championships in China, he captured his second world championship title with the Spanish team.

He also won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 2009 and bronze medals at the EuroBasket 2013 and 2017 respectively.

Gasol claimed his second World Cup title at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In the semi-finals against Australia, Gasol scored 33 points. In the Final against Argentina, he scored 14 points, had a team-high 7 assists, had 2 steals, and blocked 3 shots. He and teammate Ricky Rubio were both selected to the World Cup All-Star Team. Gasol was the first non-American to win an NBA or WNBA championship as well as a gold medal in the same year. Marc and his brother Pau Gasol announced that they will leave the national basket team after 20 years of service representing their country.

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