Lakers News: Pau Gasol Has Been Voted Into Basketball Hall Of Fame
Two-time Los Angeles Lakers champion Pau Gasol has reportedly been named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The seven-footer, a six-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA inclusion, was one of the two best players on Lakers clubs that went to three straight NBA Finals from 2008-10, winning the last two. He also was the best player on two silver medalist men's basketball Olympic teams, clubs that put up a mighty fight against deeper, more talented U.S. clubs.
It was first revealed in February that Gasol was a finalist for this honor. Given his standing as one of the NBA's great international success stories, his championship pedigree, and his insane longevity, it was a no-brainer that he would be selected as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
2023 has been a big year for the retired power forward/center. Earlier this month, Gasol saw his No. 16 Lakers jersey get hung into Crypto.com Arena's rafters, where it would join a bevy of other LA luminaries. Of course, there was no question which jerseys it would directly neighbor: fallen comrade Kobe Bryant's No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys, both long since retired.
Former Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade, ex-Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki, current Spurs head coach/GM Gregg Popovich, and Gasol's fellow 2001 draftee Tony Parker, another Spurs legend, all also made the Hall of Fame cut, as did multi-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon (a former Spurs assistant coach and now a championship-winning head coach for the star-studded Las Vegas Aces).
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