Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol Sáez (born January 29, 1985) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted 48th overall in the 2007 NBA draft and went on to sign with the Grizzlies where he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2013. He is a two-time NBA All-Star. The 7’1″ center is the younger brother of fellow NBA player Pau Gasol.
While he spent almost all of his childhood in the Barcelona area, Gasol moved as a teenager with his parents to the Memphis suburb of Germantown, Tennessee in 2001, after his older brother Pau was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks and then had his rights traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, who finalized their move from Vancouver just after the draft. Gasol played high school basketball at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis. Nicknamed “The Big Burrito”, he was named Division 2’s Mr. Basketball in 2003 following a senior season in which he averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks per game. In 2008, Lausanne retired Gasol’s #33 jersey. His parents still live in Germantown.
After graduating from Lausanne, Gasol returned to his home country of Spain to play in the Liga ACB for FC Barcelona. After his solid play in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Gasol signed with Akasvayu Girona, spending two seasons with the club and was named the 2008 ACB Most Valuable Player.
NBA Career
After averaging 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per game during the 2012–13 season, Gasol was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first European player to win the award. In 2012–13, Memphis surrendered a league-low 88.7 points per game. According to NBA.com, Gasol’s +5.4 score differential ranked second among the league’s centers. The Grizzlies also had a +7.5 score differential when Gasol was playing versus −3.9 when he was on the bench. ESPN lauded the Grizzlies’ ability to force turnovers with Gasol on the court anchoring the defense. Gasol also averaged 14.1 points and 4.0 assists per game – his 318 assists for the season were the highest total among all centers.
Despite being named the Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol was left off the NBA All-Defensive first team and was named to the second team instead. Of the players named to both teams, Gasol received the least amount of votes.
On October 29, 2014, Gasol scored a then career-high 32 points as the Grizzlies defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 105–101 for the franchise’s first victory in a season opener since 2000, the year before the team moved to Memphis. He tied his career-high with 32 points against the Boston Celtics on November 21. Gasol went on to record 28 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists in a 107–101 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on December 5 despite suffering bone bruising in his right knee two nights prior, staking his claim as one of the top MVP candidates in the process. He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career in 2014–15. In the Grizzlies’ season finale on April 15, Gasol scored a then career-high 33 points in a 95–83 win over the Indiana Pacers. The Grizzlies and Gasol reached the semi-finals where they lost to the No. 1 seeded Golden State Warriors. He averaged 18.8 points and 11.6 rebounds in the six-game series against the Warriors. For his regular season averages of 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, Gasol was recognized with his first All-NBA First Team selection.
On July 13, 2015, Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies. On November 13, he scored a then season-high 31 points in a 101–100 won over the Portland Trail Blazers. A week later, he recorded his first career triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 96–84 win over the Houston Rockets. On December 1, he recorded a career-high 38 points and 13 rebounds in a 113–104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On December 27, in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Gasol scored 16 points and passed Shareef Abdur-Rahim (7,801 points) for fourth on the Grizzlies’ all-time scoring list. On February 9, 2016, he was ruled out indefinitely with a broken right foot. He was later ruled out for the rest of the season on February 23 after undergoing surgery. The injury-riddled Grizzlies finished seventh in the Western Conference, and without Gasol and Mike Conley, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
Marc Gasol
International career
In 2006, Gasol was named to the Spanish national team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan as a replacement for NBA-draftee Fran Vazquez. Spain went on to win the gold medal in Japan, as well as at the 2009 FIBA EuroBasket. He also won silver medals at the 2007 FIBA EuroBasket, the 2008 Olympics and the 2012 Olympics.