Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol won his first-ever NBA championship a couple of days ago when he helped the team take down the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. The seven-foot Spaniard is enjoying every moment of this career milestone, but he also recognized the resiliency of their fallen opponents.
The Warriors witnessed two of its players go down with devastating injuries, as Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in Game 5 while Klay Thompson tore his ACL in Game 6. Still, Golden State didn't go down without a fight, and Gasol commended them for that.
Gasol on Warriors: “That team, their heart and their resilience was unreal. That was the first thing I thought of after."
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) June 16, 2019
The Warriors came into the Finals already riddled with injuries. Even before Durant suffered his Achilles injury in Game 5, he was already out for the first four games of the championship series with a calf strain. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson missed Game 3 because of a minor hamstring injury.
Still, the Raptors were never complacent. Although they knew that they were facing a short-handed Warriors team, they still fought hard on both ends of the floor. Toronto knew that Golden State can make a comeback whenever they see an opening, so they kept their focus until the buzzer sounded in Game 6.
Gasol remembers those moments, and he's still feeling the euphoria up to this point. He doesn't even want to discuss his plans for this summer because he's still savoring the championship win.
The veteran center has yet to decide on whether to opt in on the player option of his contract. For now, he just wants to celebrate. After spending more than a decade in the NBA, he finally got a ring.
That sure is special.
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