It looks like Pau Gasol has reached the end of the line when it comes to his basketball playing career. The future Hall of Famer has set a press conference for next Tuesday that is expected to feature him announcing his retirement, according to Spanish reporter Lucas Saez-Bravo.
Gasol officially announced his retirement from international basketball after the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year. It now looks like the 41-year-old is going to call it quits altogether.
If he's indeed done, Pau Gasol wraps up a truly remarkable professional career that began all the way back in 1998 with FC Barcelona. He entered the NBA Draft in 2001 and was taken third overall by the Atlanta Hawks, only to get traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Gasol played for the Grizzlies until 2008, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that sent his younger brother, Marc, to Memphis. Pau won two titles playing with Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, while Marc became a Grizzlies icon. Pau became very close to Kobe and remains close with the family even after Bryant's tragic death in 2020.
After his Lakers playing days, Pau Gasol spent time with the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks. He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019 but was waived without having played a game.
There were rumblings of a return to the Lakers to play with Marc, but Pau wound up returning to Barcelona to finish up his career.
Throughout all this time, Gasol was a standout for the national team, winning two Olympic silver medals and a bronze. He also has a number of medals from EuroBasket competition, including three golds.
Salute to Pau Gasol, an absolute legend and a great human being.
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