2023-08-02 19:45:10
On Saturday August 12 Pau Gasol will become the third Spaniard, and first player, who enters the Springfield Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame of the legends of basketball history. That day he will follow in the footsteps of two Spanish coaches, now deceased, Antonio Díaz Miguel (1997) and Pedro Ferrándiz (2007). The legendary former player attended this afternoon, via Zoom, to the Spanish news media to share his feelings in the days leading up to such an important ceremony, “a magical moment”. It also comes just a few months after the Lakers retired their number 16 on March 8. “It’s a very special year, emotionally overwhelming, with experiences that surpass you. You dream of playing in the best league in the world, of playing with the best and enjoy it, but I had never imagined something like this”, he acknowledged.
Gasol explained that contacted Toni Kukoc and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be presented at the Springfield (Massachussets) event. “It is an honor that they have decided to accompany me because of what they mean to me and to the sport that has given me so much.” The fact that he shares his entry into the Hall of Fame with Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki also highlights the weight that European basketball has acquired in the NBA. “It has also been thanks to those European players who took the step when they were not going to the NBA, among them Fernando Martin. References that open doors and show the way are always important, but nobody gives you anything for free. You have to work for it,” she stressed.
As he did amply in his early days with the Memphis Grizzlies, which made him the star that made the big leap with his transfer to the Lakers, where he got both rings, something he remembered when he wanted to share the recognition. “At the beginning of my career there were people who got up in Spain to watch my games. Now they come to me and say: How many hours of sleep have you stolen from us!” commented.
FIBA and NBA Ambassador
Related news
Pau Gasol is today a former player who does not want to stray too far from basketball or competition, although he is in no “rush” to become more fully involved. “Right now I have quite a few demands on a professional and personal level.” Among them his foundation, his academy, his link with basketball Girona that his brother Marc presides over (“whom one day I would like to present in the Hall of Fame”) and of which he is vice president, or his status as ambassador of FIBA and the NBA. That he is not fully involved does not mean that he is not aware, for example, of the selection. “We are number one in the FIBA ranking and we have to stick out our chests. It’s not easy to be above the United States. I’m not surprised by the continuity of the bases and the identity of the team.”
He wants his figure to transcend the sports field, because “The price of success is responsibility, and even more so when many boys and girls follow you”. Gasol has manifested this attitude above all since his retirement two years ago, in his idea of having an impact on society beyond sporting achievements. “Through aid to the underprivileged, to fight for the rights of children or against childhood obesity. In short, to seek a more equitable and egalitarian world”.
#Pau #Gasol #entry #Hall #Fame #magical #moment