The Lakers will retire Pau Gasol‘s No. 16 jersey on March 7, 2023, the team announced today in a press release. The Lakers will be playing host that night to the Grizzlies, the club that acquired Gasol in a draft-night trade in 2001 and eventually sent him to L.A. in 2008.
After being acquired by the Lakers in that blockbuster deal that landed his brother Marc Gasol in Memphis, Pau appeared in 429 regular season games for the franchise, averaging 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game in 35.7 minutes per contest while shooting 52.2% from the floor.
Gasol, who announced his retirement last October at age 41, played a key role in the Lakers’ 2009 and 2010 championships, putting up 18.9 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 2.0 BPG in 46 games (40.1 MPG) during those two postseason runs. The standout forward/center made three All-Star teams during his time in Los Angeles and also earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in ’09 and ’10, as well as a place on the Second Team in ’11.
Gasol will be the 11th player to have his jersey number retired, joining teammate Kobe Bryant (Nos. 8 and 24), as well as Wilt Chamberlain (13), Elgin Baylor (22), Gail Goodrich (25), Magic Johnson (32), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33), Shaquille O’Neal (34), James Worthy (42), Jerry West (44), and Jamaal Wilkes (52).
Because he hasn’t played in the NBA since 2019, Gasol will be eligible to be part of the 2023 Hall of Fame class and has an excellent chance to be inducted. In addition to his impressive NBA résumé, Gasol also won several medals in international competition with the Spanish national team.
Interesting. I would not have thought he would be a candidate for the Lakers HOF. Thinking back, he had a really solid stretch with them.
It was much better than solid smh
Really solid
He was the reason LAL won those 2 rings, so it seems to me that his number retired & the HoF is very much deserved!
When do Nick Van Excel and Anthony Peeler get there day?
Enough is enough the league needs to stop some of this garbage let the Griz put his # up
He didn’t win a championship with the grizzlies. Winning is what matters most.
Nothing is stopping them from retiring his number that same night.
Props to the Gas-Man
I’ve been a big Pau Gasol fan since 2001, and still will never forget how ridiculous that trade was for the Lakers, even though Marc ended up luckily becoming what he did. When that went down, he was a throw in that people never thought would make it, and he weighed over 400 pounds, so its not like it was a deal with him being a future guy in mind. It just worked out that way
Good for him. He deserves it. Significant reason they won both championships they did, while taking scrutiny he didnt deserve. Saved them, with Ron Artest, in that game 7 as well. Super underrated player b/c he played with Kobe/on those teams
Completely agree about Pau. But how come comments like this are so few & far between on this site? Serious question. This is a nba site populated almost exclusively by ppl that hate basketball lol its the weirdest thing ever
People come into the game at different points in time, and in different regions, and there is subjectivity involved. Also, in the social media era, people have been super influenced into believing certain narratives, and then also, there is a relatively new mindset about being a top top tier superstar or irrelevant, and even those guys get hard on incessantly b/c people cant handle it when someone gets complimented and always have to have something to say about everything
Get hated on*
Include Bynum and leave out Marc Gasol and the Lakers would’ve been better off.
Interesting take no doubt. I gotta image that Memphis wanted Bynum much more than they wanted Marc. He was younger, more mobile, more skilled, better prospect all around. Everyone knew he had bad knees even before he got to the league. Few if any thought he’d be done as soon as he was tho
It was well known back then the Lakers werent including Bynum in anything, if I recall correctly. But ya, that was essentially a dump that Jerry West got done for the Lakers, and luckily for Memphis, Marc eventually lost the weight and improved and became great
Can not fathom why this site cares so much about number retirements lol.
Guess we should then retire Thompson and McAdoo’s numbers as well because without them we win 4 less titles
Couldn’t win without Farmar and Vujacic either. For real tho, they need to hang #2 and #21. Coop and Fisher each won 5 championships with the Lakers and were considered leaders on the team.
Celtics can get their entire 1960s squad (and Paul Pierce) in the HOF but god forbid another showtime Laker gets in.
I agree
Pretty soon the Lakers will apparently need uniforms with 3 digits…
Pau was great and all, but if he qualifies then so do Fisher and Horry….dare I say Odom?
He was an outstanding basketball player. But he only played for the Lakers for a few years. Granted he did help us win championships but I don’t think his career is worthy of retiring his number.
Played 7 years there…that’s how long Lebron was in Cleveland before going to Miami
That’s how long LaBron will be in LA after this extension…7 years
and lebron will have only won one championship
Pau Gasol is a surefire Hall of Famer and one of the most decorated international players of all time. He instantly elevated the Lakers to the top of the league. It’s a shame he constantly ended up in trade rumors but was always the ultimate professional. Forever #16 will hang next to #24 and we’ll be reminded of a beautiful era of basketball.