Pau

Gasol

Gasol is a sure-fire first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. Not only did he have a stellar career in the NBA (winning the Rookie of the Year award, capturing two titles and averaging 17.0 points, 9.2 boards and 3.2 dimes over 1,226 regular-season games), but Gasol also won three Olympic medals and three Liga ACB titles with Barcelona.

A great professional basketball career will come to an official end early next week, with the 41-year old Gasol set to announce his retirement. Selected by the Hawks with the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Gasol (who was traded to Memphis on draft night) earned Rookie of the Year honors, six All-Star Game appearances and four All-NBA selections during his 18-year NBA career. Gasol, who most recently played for FC Barcelona in his native Spain, also won two NBA titles as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Gasol won’t have to wait long until he’s enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Gasol, who will celebrate his 41st birthday next month, is joined by his brother, Marc, and current NBA players Ricky Rubio, Juan Hernangomez, and Willy Hernangomez, as well as Sergio Rodriguez, Alex Abrines, Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez.

Gasol said in October that he wants to play for Spain in the Tokyo Olympics this summer, and joining FC Barcelona is another step in that direction. The 40-year-old center will inevitably be inducted to the Hall of Fame when his playing days are over, both for his monumental success in the NBA and his central role in Spain’s basketball programs for the past few decades.

“In the next month, month and a half I will find out if I can compete again,” Gasol told Spanish publication Efe recently. “My goal is to play at the highest level one more season and be at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.” Gasol has not played in a game since May 2019 due to a stress fracture in his left foot, so there will be some rust to work off regardless of where he winds up playing next season. Last week it was reported that younger brother Marc would play in Spain next season, but there has been no confirmation from him on that front.

A member of their board of directors refuted those reports on Friday morning, so Gasol will continue to wait for his next opportunity. Now 40 years old, Gasol wants to play one more season before playing in the Olympics one last time in 2021.

A navicular stress fracture in Pau’s left foot forced him to sit out since May, 2019, and it seems he didn’t draw any interest from NBA teams headed to the bubble in Orlando. The future Hall-of-Famer is 40 years old but he wants to play in one final Olympics for Spain, and signing with Barcelona will keep him engaged with his Spanish teammates as they gear up for the rescheduled Games in July-August 2021.

Gasol said his decision will likely be made in September or October, suggesting a return to the NBA is unlikely. There’s also no indication the Lakers are interested, and they’ve recently been linked to bringing back DeMarcus Cousins (ACL surgery). The 39-year-old Gasol is recovering from a foot injury and hasn’t yet resumed running or jumping, but he hopes to participate in one final Olympics in 2021.

“It’s something that has been on my mind,” Gasol said. “Kind of like the potential of maybe finishing or playing my last year with the Lakers would be great. It’s appealing if you will, but the opportunity never really kind of presented itself in a serious official manner.” Gasol has also said that he hopes to play in the Olympics in 2021, and he’s going to turn 40 this summer.

Gasol’s 2019-20 NBA season was mired by the foot injury, but he’s not ready to retire from international play just yet. “The truth of it is that, in summer 2021, I’ll be 41, which is a challenge,” Gasol said. “It is very much still a desire to be able to play my fifth Olympics and potentially that being my very last tournament.” Even if his foot heals and he plays in the Olympics, it sounds like Pau’s vaunted NBA career has reached an end.