An emotional Pau Gasol becomes a Lakers legend: "Tonight exceeds any dream or expectation I may have had"

• NBA Kobe, Shaq, Jabbar, Magic and the legends with whom Pau Gasol shares the sky of Staples

She hadn't uttered a single word when her eyes were already brimming with tears.

The small black curtain that covered her number 16 jersey, hanging a few meters from the rafters of the

, began to descend slowly and her emotion came over her at once.

, the Spanish center who led the mighty

to win two consecutive NBA titles, established himself as a legend in front of what was his audience for six and a half seasons.

"It's been an honor to wear the jersey of this franchise," he said, trying to maintain his composure.

As planned, his retired jersey will be installed at the top of the Los Angeles pavilion along with the two numbers that the Lakers withdrew from his "brother" on the track and in life: Kobe Bryant.

With a shaky voice and surrounded by his wife,

, his two young children, his parents, his brother

,

and the owner of the team,

, he immediately remembered the star who went to knock on his door. hotel room the first day he was traded to the Californian team.

"I can't go on without talking about the face that I don't see," he said, of the man who made him "a better player and a better person in general", a memory that brought back to the pavilion a cry that resounded for years: "Kobe, Kobe" .

Gasol recalled their biggest night together, the seventh game against the

in 2010, when they won their second ring of champions.

Bryant's widow was in charge of starting the tribute, giving way to a video where her late husband settled the debate on whether or not he should remove his friend's shirt.

He really wanted to be there listening to Gasol's speech, but tragedy crossed his path in January 2020. "I love you, sister," the center told Vanessa.

The former player thanked his parents for "guiding and inspiring him", his teammates "for raising him up" and "making him a better player", without forgetting to give him "a piece of that jersey".

There was also a nod to the Latino community that he put into his pocket during those years, and to the coach who bet on him,

.

"I love you to death," he sentenced.

Ahead, a promise: to dedicate his life "to make the world a healthier and better place."

Before, the Lakers were warming up the atmosphere.

Videos of his former teammates,

and Jackson himself, were scrolling through the giant screens of the pavilion.

"You were a breath of fresh air for our team," his coach told him on the recording.

Afterwards, the voices of

came on .

Pau Gasol surrounded by his loved ones during the retirement ceremony of his shirt.Phillip KimEFE

It was a tribute squeezed to the last drop.

The emotion was palpable from an hour before.

His stalwarts were not willing to miss a single detail.

People like

, who flew from Monterey, in northern California, to be in recognition of the Catalan center.

"He is the best," he told EL MUNDO enthusiastically from his front row seat, the same one he has occupied since 1999, when they inaugurated the old Staples Center.

He is one of the few who has seen it all.

Or almost everything.

That's why he puts Gasol up there, along with legends like Magic or Kareem.

"I was here when they announced the signing," he recalls.

"Gasol is an incredible human being. He is part of the Lakers' tapestry and you can't tell the story of this team without telling his own. This tribute is more than deserved."

Zandra Angeles

, a club employee since 2004, recalled helping seat the parents of the Spanish legend in his first match after being traded.

"They're amazing people. I'm sure the city of Los Angeles will never forget what he did for all of us. He was one of those players who would always say hello. A true gentleman."

Two hours earlier, in a room full of Spanish and American press, Gasol still confessed to being nervous and on the verge of tears.

He could hardly sleep.

"My heart was beating very hard at 6 in the morning. I couldn't go back to sleep," he recounted, in what was a brief review of his career, his achievements with the Memphis Grizzlies and

the Spanish basketball team, as well to remember, again, Kobe.

"I miss him a lot," she said.

"But there's nothing he can do but love his family. That's how I deal with it."

From his indisputable and immediate connection on the court grew a friendship that Bryant didn't offer to everyone.

"It translated into something beautiful with Vanessa and her daughters. And that's a big thing."

Pau's retired shirt next to that of his 'brother' Kobe Bryant.Phillip KimEFE

The best moment of his career?

That seventh game against the Celtics, where he was decisive with 19 points and a huge last quarter.

And to achieve, the two Olympic golds that escaped him against the USA, both with his "brother" Bryant as a rival in the final.

Despite his unquestionable humility, he admits that he is already one of the greats, a living legend of what is, along with the Celtics, the biggest franchise in the NBA.

"The reason my jersey is up there is because I significantly helped win those championships," he muses, not fully believing what has happened to him.

"Tonight exceeds any dream or expectation I may have had, because it means so much," he says.

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