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The moment Pau Gasol took the floor as a 21-year-old rookie with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, the NBA world knew they were watching great talent develop in front of their own eyes.
Gasol went head-to-head with some of the league’s best big men and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award. Gasol is now considered one of the greatest power forwards of the post Michael Jordan-era, and is a two-time champion.
Playing in the always-tough Western Conference for the majority of his career, no night was easy for Gasol. Head to San Antonio, Tim Duncan gives you problems on both ends; head to Dallas, and Dirk Nowitzki is hitting fadeaway jumpers in your face. Though his skills almost always reigned supreme, Gasol’s matchup frequently had the upper hand physically.
Gasol knows the ins and outs of almost every opponent. In an interview with Len Werle of OpenCourt-Basketball, he revealed the three toughest players to guard in his career:
“A lot of players. Tim [Duncan], Kevin Garnett in their primes, Dirk Nowitzki in [his] prime.” He continues, “they were very hard players to play against and very hard to stop. They’re three of the greatest players to ever play the game.”
Each player has won at least one championship, one MVP, has been named to at least ten All-Star teams and played nineteen professional seasons.
