June 27, 2021 is surely a day etched in Pau Gasol’s memory and heart, the date he officially became an NBA player after being drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks who would later transfer him to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The young Barça promise had just won the League and the Copa del Rey against Madrid and was elected MVP at the age of 21., in a campaign where he averaged 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. Seeing that he was ready to try out his NBA dream and with interest from several franchises, he declared himself eligible for the 2021 draft.
What would happen next, Not even the lanky player from Sant Boi could have imagined it. On draft night, held at Madison Square Garden in New York, Pau was selected third overall, becoming the first player not drafted in the United States to be selected at the highest position in the draft and the first second Spaniard who was going to play in the NBA after Fernando Martin.
From the Hawks to Memphis
The cap with the Hawks, with which he officially appears when he takes the stand alongside the then commissioner of the League, now deceased, David Sternit would not be his final destination. Gasol was traded along with Lorenzen Wright and Brevin Knight to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the rights to then-franchise player Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the 27th pick in the 2001 draft, Jamaal Tinsley.
An unexpected change of destiny that took him to a franchise that had recently arrived from Vancouver and needed to put down roots in the land of Elvis Presleyand what better than to have an exciting Spaniard who promised a lot. Its official presentation came on October 1, 2001 with the number 16 on the back..
He made his debut against the Detroit Pistons on November 1, 2021 and would finish his first season as Rookie of the Year thanks to an average of 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.06 blocks in 82 games played, all as a starter. Pau, the legend, was beginning to take shape.
2024-06-30 09:30:11
#Pau #Gasol #Barça #sky #Memphis #Grizzlies
