Los Angeles Lakers legend Pau Gasol has his jersey retired by the franchise Tuesday during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena. Plenty of personalities are in attendance to watch the event unfold, including Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.
Jokingly asked what he's doing at the Lakers' home, Butler said that he's there to show his love for Pau Gasol.
“What's this guy's name? Pau? I'm here because of Pau, obviously!, Butler said. Congrats to my brother Pau. I love you man. Much deserved, Hall-of-Fame coming soon.”
Perhaps many have already forgotten that Butler and Pau Gasol used to be teammates with the Chicago Bulls. The two played together in Windy City for two seasons in the mid-2010s, when Butler was a rapidly ascending star while Pau Gasol was in the latter stages of his basketball career in the NBA. In 150 games played for the Bulls, he averaged 17.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
But Pau Gasol will always be remembered mostly for his days playing alongside Kobe Bryant for the Lakers, during which he helped the Purple & Gold win two NBA titles in 2009 and 2010. Having his jersey retired was the Lakers organization's way of showing further appreciation to one of the greatest ever to wear Los Angeles threads.
In seven seasons with the Lakers, Gasol averaged 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest while shooting an efficient 52.2 percent from the floor across a total of 429 games. Gasol's last played in an NBA game for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2018-19 season. He would later sign with Liga ACB club FC Barcelona before retiring from basketball in 2021.
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