Spain is like a stranger to Europe. Madness and romance appear simultaneously in the Iberian Peninsula, which together form this land of tension.
Everything here is full of fascinating contradictions: the singer who sings in the bar may also be a fugitive robber; A beautiful woman wearing acacia flowers on her chest smokes hallucinogenic cigarettes at the same time; Romantic love stories accompanied by cruel vendettas; The tango dancer has a beauty in her arms and a short sword around her waist ...
Paulo Gasol comes from Spain, and like Spain, he is two-faced, with elegance and fiery intertwined, with him all his life.
He looks like a mild-mannered doctor – in fact, he would be a doctor if he didn't play basketball. He will use soothing words to comfort patients and families, and can also use a cold scalpel to calmly remove diseased organs, accompanied by tenderness and blood.
He is more like a Spanish bullfighter, using a blazing red cloth, gracefully teasing angry bulls, maneuvering between and blood, tenderness and blood.
Gasol is a gentle giant and a tough fighter at the same time.
The 2007 offseason was one of the most chaotic periods in Lakers history, and that anxiety and confusion lasted at least a day or two.
Kobe Bryant claimed to "rather play on Pluto" than stay with the Lakers, and when asked how he should keep him, Bryant said:
"No, I just want them to do the right thing."
Although Bryant did not force his way out of the Lakers that summer, he did make a trade request to the team's management to tell the Lakers that changes must be made.
Gasol, then 27, had played for the Grizzlies for seven years, during which time he won Rookie of the Year and was also named an All-Star once. But with three consecutive playoff trips ending in sweeps, Gasol began to cease to be a non-sale for the team, often drinking alone in a bar in Memphis.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchek said:
"I remember there were written reports or rumors that he was tradable, but it wasn't from the mainstream media. So I called the Grizzlies directly so you could know firsthand if they would really be interested in trading. ”
The fact is that the Grizzlies accepted the deal, and in the form of a "robbery." I'd rather believe that the Grizzlies were bullied by Western giants like the Spurs Mavericks to take revenge on society, rather than believe that they had expectations for Kwame Brown.
Paul Gasol wore a purple-gold jersey, and this is not his first connection with the Los Angeles Lakers, who was a loyal Lakers fan as a child.
When "Magic" Johnson held a press conference in 1991 to announce to the world that he had HIV, 11-year-old Gasol Jr. cried all day, and many years later, he talked about it:
"I thought he was going to die, and in those days, AIDS equaled death. I wandered around school and was overwhelmed. ”
Gasol asked his parents who worked at the hospital if the idol "magician" would die, but they couldn't give a definitive answer. So at that time, Gasol's dream was not only to enter the NBA, but also to have a doctor's dream, in order to save the life of the idol.
"I'm eager to find a cure [for AIDS], I'm eager to overcome this, and I'm eager to cure cancer." I'm only 11 years old, but that's my dream. ”
Gasol said.
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Gasol saw the strong physique of superstars such as magicians, Jordan, and Barkley, so he changed his picky eater and swallowed ham and bread as a dream. At the age of 13, Gasol suddenly grew to 183 centimeters, and his position on the pitch was moved from defender to centre-forward, which attracted the attention of FC Barcelona.
Gasol, who didn't want to enter the professional basketball team too early and didn't officially join the Barcelona youth team until he was 16, said:
"I don't know what kind of person I will become, but I think I should study well, and in my personal opinion, being a doctor is more important than playing basketball."
At the age of 18, Gasol followed in his father's footsteps to the Barcelona Medical School. In the beginning, Gasol was obsessed with basketball and medicine, refusing to leave anything behind, trying to find a balance.
During the day, he is a first-year student at the Medical School of the University of Barcelona; In the evening, he is a player for FC Barcelona. He could only take the bus every day, or occasionally rub his father's car, shuttling between classrooms and courts.
"It's not easy to take the bus because I always have to keep my head down or I'll hit the roof."
Gasol said,
"Of course it also gave me another life experience because I could walk between basketball and medicine. A lot of my friends can only do one thing, a basketball team mate who can only play, a medical school classmate who only studies, and I do both. ”
Even though he later had to give up studying medicine because of exhaustion, Gasol still loved medicine. He thought he could be a researcher, study the virus and find a cure, but he was so tired:
"Basketball is a little bit more of an opportunity for me and I feel like I can control it and play everywhere with a professional team, which excites me. And the bottom line is, if my basketball career doesn't succeed, I can still go back to school and hopefully become a doctor. ”
He met with Dr. Hosep, the head of the medical school of the University of Barcelona, and after expressing his grievances, he received permission from the doctor and dropped out.
"Dr. Josep told me he would still wait for me to come back."
Gasol said.
It's a shame that Dr. Josep can't wait for Gasol to put on his bachelor's hat, because he is now an NBA superstar and a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Pau Gasol is often described as an "underrated star" or wasn't that strong before coming to the Lakers, and in fact looking back at his rookie season and Grizzlies years, his performances are definitely outstanding.
In his rookie season, Gasol averaged 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 blocks per game, and in the Rookie of the Year vote, he received 117 of the 126 votes, making him undisputed Rookie of the Year in 2001-2002, becoming the first Grizzlies player to receive this honor.
The 2003-2004 season was not long before Gasol responded strongly in the face of doubts from the outside world:
"It's time for us to make the playoffs."
No one took that seriously, they had only 28 wins last season, but Gasol led the team to do it.
In February 2004, the Grizzlies beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-95 to a 28-21 record — tying the all-time record for a single season win — and Gasol again mentioned 50 wins, saying:
"I don't think it's an impossible goal anymore."
Guess what, they just won 50 that season, and even though Gasol didn't play due to injury, the team still saw him as the biggest contributor to the 50 wins.
From the very beginning of booing Gasol to the desire to compare him to the city's spokesperson "Elvis", Gasol has done it all with tough performances. Gasol seems to be a native of Memphis, he loves art, likes to play classical music while driving, and has a calm and soft personality.
What Teacher Yang Yi said:
"The Spurs pick players with good personalities, the Thunder pick players with good talent, and the Grizzlies pick players who look like bears."
Gasol, after being sprayed with soft eggs for several years, with savage long hair and a big beard, seems to really look like a bear, at least a good bear with a loving heart.
Until he came to this extremely desperate team.
After Gasol came to the Lakers, he averaged 18.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, helping the Lakers achieve a 22-5 record to end the regular season and play well.
April 20, 2008, is a date that Gasol may remember for the rest of his life.
Inside Staples, one of the most glorious gladiatorial arenas in NBA history, 19,000 avid fans roared to a tsunami of cheers. Last year's Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby was unfortunate enough to be the backdrop for a great show, and he watched as Gasol took those rebounds on his head, shot those little hooks, and in a trance you thought it was the comeback Abdul-Jabbar!
Gasol is in the box, scoring like a prospect, and tonight even the light of the four-time scoring champion and new MVP Bryant is overshadowed by him. Every inch of the maple floor in the arena records the sweat and footprints behind the numbers of 36 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocks.
This hearty victory kicked off the Lakers' playoff victory journey, and they went all the way to knockout the defending champion Spurs 4-1.
The Lakers and Celtics meet in the Finals, and the feud between the feud continues into the 21st century. Gasol also met the opponent who transformed him, another legendary power forward Kevin Garnett.
Before the start of the series, Gasol said:
"My style of play is more technical, and I think that's enough."
Gasol's style of play was practiced in medical school, where every child hid from each other and no one wanted to get hurt in training or games. Gasol believes that tough play with muscles is not his style, and he prefers to guide the game with nimble feet and soft touch.
It wasn't until he actually got to the stage of the finals that Gasol realized he was wrong, this is the war of tough guys, this is the game of the brave.
In the face of tough KG, Gasol seems to be a soft egg again. The Celtics put KG in the heart of the offense, and Gasol couldn't limit him at all, Garnett frequently scored on his head, broke through, shot, controlled rebounds...
Not only was he poor on the defensive end, but Gasol also made frequent mistakes on the offensive end, and he seemed to forget how to shoot his best mid-range and pass those exquisite passes under the fierce collision of muscles. In Game 6 of the finals, Gasol made more mistakes (5) than goals (4). So the fans chanted "Ga-soft" and the Lakers were out of the game.
In fact, Gasol is not that bad, he still averaged 10.2 rebounds per game, but this is far from hiding the fact that he was blasted by Garnett.
Nietzsche famously said, "Every day that has not danced is a failure of life." ”
For the Los Angeles Lakers, a season without a championship is an absolute failure. Bryant said something similar: "Not winning a championship is a waste of lives for an entire season." ”
For Gasol, the '08 Finals were "a dance to live up", and on the night of the finals, he didn't sleep all night, Kobe knocked on his room door, and the two had a long conversation. After the Olympics, Bryant hung the gold medal he snatched from Gasol on his cabinet, constantly stimulating him.
Matt Barnes, who later joined the Lakers, was stunned, recalling:
"I sometimes have to hug Gasol and reassure him that everything will be fine because Kobe will reprimand him with any word you can think of."
But Gasol didn't mind Kobe's harsh treatment, and he himself confessed:
"There's no doubt that Kobe Bryant is particularly me, but I feel like it's going to make me better."
As Gasol says, he was spurred on to become a better player.
What price does a polite and gentle Spanish gentleman have to pay to confront the scolding and angry Garnett?
"Well, I admit, if I were to swear like Garnett, I would never be able to do it." Gasol said.
Then there was the journalist's conversation with him:
"Where do you want to go later?"
"Barbershop"
"And then?"
"Gym"
"Fitness? When did you start training strength? ”
"From the boot camp, I practiced two or three times a week. I've never done this before, but now I have to do it! ”
Then the reporter mentioned the nickname "plus soft egg" again, and Gasol's soft eyes suddenly became resolute, he actually lost his temper, and he said with a little anger:
"I've heard it many times... I've heard it too many times! ”
In the Christmas battle of the new season, yellow and green meet again. Until the last three minutes, Gasol scored seven consecutive points and two blocks. Like a crazy white bear, his eyes widened angrily, his messy beard was roaring at the sky with his mouth open, waving his windmill-like arms, and letting sweat splash wantonly on the floor.
Gasol's career masterpiece was the 2010 Finals, again against Garnett.
In the first two games of the Finals, Gasol scored 48 points, 22 rebounds and 8 blocks, six of which came in Game 1.
In the final game, Gasol fought Kevin Garnett in 42 minutes of playing time, and the hand-to-hand combat between the two is a very exciting and classic drama in any era.
Even after nearly 13 years, Kupchek will not forget Gasol's performance in that game. He had 19 points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.
"My favorite story about him? That's the seven-robbery, although I don't know if it's a 'story'. ”
Kupchek said,
"Everyone was fighting with incredible hardness and enthusiasm, but Paul was still the one worth mentioning in my opinion."
In the Big Seven battle, Kobe has been barely shooting since the end of the jumping ball, and almost lost the game because he was not calm. Gasol was ready and stepped up when the Lakers needed him most.
At this time, Gasol was like Dr. Banner who had controlled the "Hulk", with a cool head and a tough fighting spirit. The calm doctor and the flamboyant bullfighter, Gasol plays these two contradictory roles at the same time, a fighter, and only a fighter can describe this contradiction between dream and reality.
"I always keep in mind my mission in the final battle and I will not allow that team to beat us again at Staples Center. We're going to take that championship trophy at all costs, I'm going to go into killing mode, I'm going to bite, I'm going to fight to the death, I don't care who you are, I'm going to screw my opponent's head off. ”
Gasol gritted his steel teeth and hissed.
Gasol's soft eyes became sharp when talking about the narrow 83-79 victory, and his nostrils were wide open when talking about that blood-boiling night, ugly, but beautiful.
Now Paul Gasol has shaved his long messy hair and does not need to play a violent beast.
His hairstyle has changed into a neat short hair, looking very competent, the hair color on the sides of his head has been gray, and the corners of his eyes are crow's feet when he laughs, more like a middle-aged doctor who is close to the people.
With the number 16 shirt hanging high next to the Nos. 8 and No. 24 shirts, Gasol moistened his eyes.
Lonnie Walker, who has been teammates with Gasol at the Spurs, said of the warm big man:
"He hugged me with love. It was the first thing I remembered, he put me under his wing. ”
As a FIBA ambassador, Gasol is committed to promoting the sport of basketball worldwide. He is also a philanthropic cause, working for child health in Los Angeles and serving as a UNICEF ambassador.
Paulo Gasol's name is like the sand of the Iberian Peninsula, soft and thick, with the sea breeze blowing all over the world, bringing the warmth of the sun and the aftertaste of wine.
He is used to gently melting the flames, whether when he sees this number 24 shirt, he can recall the years when he braced his spine with toughness.
Those years were crazy like the Bull Running Festival, for ideals, for romance, to fight, to die...