Saturday night marked the first time that Marc Gasol donned a different jersey aside from the usual dark blue of the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Spanish big man made his debut for the Toronto Raptors after they traded for him just hours before the NBA's trade deadline last February 7.
Gasol opened up about his first game with the Raptors after they secured the 104-99 win over the lowly New York Knicks, which lost their 16th game in a row.
“Obviously I asked him a lot of questions about what should have been happening in each situation,” Gasol said, per ESPN.
In order to get acclimated with the team's system and plays, the 34-year old sought the help of Raptors assistant coach Sergio Scariolo, who served as Gasol's coach on the Spain national team.
Gasol came off the bench in his first game with the Raptors, and had a relatively quiet outing. He played just 19 minutes and finished with seven points and six rebounds.
Gasol, who spent his first 11 seasons in Memphis, will likely have to make some adjustments and sacrifices. As shown, he may not see as much floor time as he did with Memphis. Despite Gasol's arrival, Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam still saw majority of the big man minutes with 29 and 33, respectively.
The two have been great for Toronto this season. Thus, it wouldn't be in coach Nick Nurse's best interests to disrupt the momentum they have created throughout the season by inserting the aging star into the starting five.
Nonetheless, Gasol is the ultimate professional.
It's clear to him as to why he was brought to Toronto, and that is to help them compete for a deep run in the post-season.