Pau Gasol Biography

Pau Gasol Sáez, born on July 6, 1980, is a Spanish former professional basketball player who has played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association as a power forward. He has been selected as an NBA All-Star six times and earned All-NBA honors on two occasions each for the second and third teams. Gasol won two NBA championships while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010. He was awarded NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 after being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol was chosen by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft before being traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies. He was named MVP of the 2006 FIBA World Cup and earned the top honor at the 2009 and 2015 FIBA EuroBasket tournaments. He shares the record for most EuroBasket MVP awards with two, a record he holds alongside Krešimir Ćosić.