Pau Gasol, 41, has called a press conference for Tuesday to announce his retirement from professional basketball, according to Lucas Saez Bravo. At some point in the not-too-distant future, I fully expect the Los Angeles Lakers to retire Gasol's No. 16 and hang his jersey in the Staples Center rafters next to Kobe Bryant.

This is a no-brainer, not a hot take. Alongside his good friend Kobe Bryant, Gasol helped lead the Lakers to three straight NBA Finals appearances and two NBA championships (2009, 2010) in his first three springs with the franchise.

Across those first three playoff runs, Gasol — who made three All-Star teams and three All-NBA teams in Los Angeles — averaged 18.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game on 55% shooting.

In fact, one could argue that Gasol should have won the 2010 Finals MVP. Against a historically rugged Boston Celtics defense, Gasol put up 18.6 points, 11.6 boards, 3.7 assists, and 2.6 blocks in seven games. Kobe averaged 28.6 PPG on 40.5% shooting. (I personally believe Kobe deserved the award, but, regardless, that series represented the most impressive stretch of Gasol's illustrious career.)

Overall, Pau averaged 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game on 52.2% shooting in six-plus seasons in Los Angeles. Long considered amongst the smartest and most malleable players in the sport — and a cherished teammate of Bryant and many others, on and off the court — Gasol was one of the premier second-bananas of his era and in Lakers history.

The Lakers have retired 10 numbers — all Hall of Famers and multiple-time All-Stars. Gasol, a surefire future Hall of Famer himself, fits the bill. (Again — nobody is disagreeing.)

Beyond the numbers, Pau is responsible for some of the most indelible moments in 21st century Lakers lore.

  1. The man unfairly stereotyped as “soft” — as other European bigs have been (see: Nowitzki, Dirk) — took part in gigantic clutch rebounds in the second round against the Utah Jazz in 2008 and in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals.
  2. His chemistry with Kobe was never more clutch than when he finished off Bryant's dump-off pass in the final moments of the epic Game 3 of the 2009 Finals against the Orlando Magic.
  3. He outplayed Dwight Howard in the '09 Finals and Tim Duncan in the 2008 Western Conference Finals.
  4. His double-clutch layup over the Celtics in 2010 was arguably the biggest non-Metta shot of the series.
  5. Plus, he gave us this all-time dime:

 

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Not surprisingly, Bryant emphatically advocated for the Lakers retiring Pau's number.

“There's no debate. He will have his number in the rafters next to mine,” said Kobe.

Gasol was “happy and appreciative” to hear Bryant's words.

Furthermore, Gasol was — and is — as admirable of an ambassador for the Lakers and basketball at large as anybody, which should make the Lakers and their fans even more proud to see his name and number hang next to Kobe's. Let's make it happen.

Congrats to Pau Gasol on a magnificent career. He should be one of the 75 players named for the NBA's 75th-anniversary celebration later this season.