Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol has had plenty of opportunities to hoist championship trophies as of late.
After Gasol helped to lead the Raptors to their first NBA championship in franchise history, he started for a Spanish team that defeated Argentina to win the gold medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
In fact, Gasol actually compared his two most recent pieces of hardware, likening the World Cup trophy to the Larry O'Brien trophy (via Joe Vardon of The Athletic):
“It reminded me a lot of the Larry O’Brien trophy,” Gasol said when asked what it was like to hoist the Naismith trophy, awarded to the World Cup winner. And hey, you can drink out of it!
“When I saw it, it was pretty shiny as well,” Gasol continued. “Completely different tournament, completely different set up, but the feeling of fulfillment was there, because you invested so much, you risked a lot and you put everything on the line for your guys.”
Gasol had a tremendous tournament for the Spaniards. In eight games, Gasol averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists while being named to the all-tournament team.
This latest gold medal marks the second time that Gasol has won a World up with Spain, and he also has a pair of Olympic silver medals on his resume. Gasol iterated that this might be his final World Cup, and that he is uncertain about whether or not he will play for the Senior Team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
After accepting his one-year option with the Raptors, Gasol will once again anchor a Toronto team that hopes to remain among the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
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