"Without Gasol, the Lakers would have fallen into ruin"

The shadow of

is lengthened in the basketball of the first world power.

Nine years after his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers, the respect, affection and admiration for the legacy of the Spanish center remain intact.

No one forgets what he did for the franchise that marked his career or for the city.

His dedication, his intelligence, his eloquence, his connection with the Hispanic community in the second city in the world with the most Mexicans, his eternal friendship with Kobe.

"Tonight's honor speaks for itself," Mike Fratello told

an hour before the tribute to the Catalan at the Crypto.com Arena.

"There aren't many people who have their jerseys removed in a basketball temple like this."

In those almost two decades since Gasol left the team, many things have happened in the Californian franchise, including the arrival of a wonder like

, who won the title in that strange pandemic championship in 2020. But the feeling of the connoisseurs in the world of baskets in the United States is that nothing has ever been the same without the world champion with the Spanish team and the three-time European champion.

"They haven't had a group feeling like that since then, not even when they won the NBA during the pandemic," explains Ramona Shelburne, star journalist for

.

"That's why I think the appreciation for him among Lakers fans has grown over the years, as a gentleman that he is and as a champion. He did things very well to win over the public. In addition, he spoke Spanish

in this city. I don't know anybody in Los Angeles or in the United States who has anything negative to say about him."

Bill Plaschke, the

columnist who has covered the Lakers since the late 1980s, goes even further.

"

," he analyzes.

"Pau kept the Lakers dynasty alive. He came here with the aura that he was soft and not very winning but he showed that he was the opposite. He showed it in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics. That was his greatest moment. Gasol changed Lakers history forever."

Gasol greeting fans at the Lakers' Crypto.com Arena.HARRY HOWGetty Images via AFP

This despite playing the role of

, of secondary man.

"But he won big games, like against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference final in 2008," Plaschke recalls.

"Gasol brought two championships to this city. That's why they are removing his jersey."

Fratello remembers the days when "I was lucky enough to coach a young Pau," a player who he says not only changed the history of the Lakers but changed the history of the Grizzlies.

"He helped us win a lot of games," he says.

"There's no question that he gave the Grizzlies franchise a tremendous boost. Unfortunately, I would have liked to win a championship with him, but he got the offer from the Lakers and he had to take it."

The next natural step should be his induction into the American Basketball Hall of Fame.

The former coach of the Hawks and Cavaliers admits that

. He has done a lot for US basketball and for his country internationally He deserves it. He should be up there, alongside the greats."

Metta Sandiford-Artest, who was Gasol's teammate in those Lakers, remembers him as a "killer", with a killer instinct on the track that Bryant brought out in him.

"

of him," above his "respectable and affectionate" facet that made him unique, but sometimes got in the way of aggressiveness of him on the field.

Kobe asked him to always bring it up.

"That was what Pau did. They also respected each other. Kobe respected the fact that he needed Pau," he says.

"And he gave him the ball. Pau respected the fact that Kobe had to have the ball" at key moments in the game.

"I think the formula worked perfectly."

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