Photo:Bob Rosato /Sports Illustrated via Getty
Bob Rosato /Sports Illustrated via Getty
Pau Gasolis sharing his latest honor with late basketball legendKobe Bryant.
Thesix-time NBA All-Star, 43, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers with Bryant andretired in 2021, was inducted into this year’sNaismith Basketball Hall of Fameclass on Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Accepting his accolades with fellow greats likeDwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Gregg Popovich, Gasol’s speech took an emotional turn when he brought up Bryant, who died tragically in a helicopter crashin 2020at age 41 with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others.
“Kobe Bryant took my game to the next level,” the Spanish athlete said of Bryant, “Taught me what it took to win at the highest level” and “showed me how hard you have to work and the mentality that you have to have in order to be the best.”
Continued Gasol: “The commitment you had to make, what it meant and what it took to be a leader. Kobe.”
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The camera panned to Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, 41, whose eyes fluttered with emotion at the mention of her husband’s name, as she applauded Gasol.
Gasol described how Bryant welcomed him to the teamin 2008. “He just wanted to make sure that right away, firsthand, I got the message,” he said of arriving to the hotel for his first game the next day, “He said, ‘Welcome to the team, I’m happy you’re here, now let’s go win a championship together.’ I said, ‘Alright man, I’m in’ … and that was it. That was it. No crap. Straight to the chase.”
“I wouldn’t be here without you brother,” he added. “I wish more than ever that you and Gigi were here today with us,” he said as his eyes teared up. “I miss you and love you.”
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Gasol also thanked Vanessa for being there tonight. “I’m proud to be a brother and and uncle to your wonderful girls.”
In February,Gasol was awarded the WNBA’s 2023 Kobe & Gigi Bryant Advocacy Award, with “significant contributions to the advancement of girls' and women’s basketball,” the WNBA said in a release at the time.
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Vanessa Bryant and WNBA CommissionerCathy Engelbertpresented Gasol with the award during the NBA All-Star Game in Utah.
“I’m so pleased that Pau has been chosen to receive this award. Pau has done so much to promote women and girls in sports and cares deeply about spreading a message of equality, which was so important to Kobe and Gianna,” said Bryant, the Chair of the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a positive impact for underserved athletes and boys and girls in sports.
“We are grateful to the WNBA and Pau for continuing to honor Kobe and Gianna in this way,” she added.
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In March, Gasol’s #16 jersey was retired next to Kobe’s #24 at Crypto.Com arena, formerly the Staples Center.
As the crowd broke out into a “Kobe” chant, Gasol said, “I miss him so much, like many of us do. I love him; I wish he was here with Gigi, I really do. But, I think he’ll be proud and he was looking forward to this moment. I love you, brother.”
source: people.com
