On Monday, Pau Gasol was left nearly speechless after being shown a blast-from-the-past clip of Kobe Bryant acknowledging his place in Los Angeles Lakers history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nDvQ5uArCY&feature=youtu.be
Back in 2018, Bryant told Antonio Martín of EFE that he believed Gasol’s No. 16 jersey will be retired by the Lakers.
When Omar Raja of ESPN presented the short video to Gasol, the former Laker barely found the words to react to Bryant’s endorsement.
“I guess happy and appreciative,” Gasol said as he struggled to compose himself.
Bryant made no secret of his support for the veteran power forward to be honored by the Lakers in the future.
In the clip, Bryant acknowledged Gasol’s partnership with him in giving the team back-to-back championships, winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2009 and 2010.
“There’s no debate. Pau, when he retires, he will have his number in the rafters next to mine,” Bryant said. “The reality is, I don’t win those championships without Pau. The city of L.A. doesn’t have those championships without Pau Gasol. We know that, everybody knows that, and I really look forward to the day that he’s there giving his speech at center court in front of all of the fans that have supported him over the years. It’s going to be an awesome night.”
Gasol averaged 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks per game in seven seasons with the Lakers. He recently stated that it would be an honor for the Lakers to hang his jersey in the rafters.
With the recently departed Bryant practically campaigning for Gasol’s jersey to be retired, it’s now up to the Lakers organization to decide on what to do once Gasol retires from the NBA.
