The Stellar Spaniard: A Biography of NBA Star Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol is one of the most popular and talented international players in basketball. The 7-foot, shaggy-haired Laker is known both for his scoring and rebounding abilities. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he led all men’s basketball players in points-per-game. In 2002, he became the first European player ever to be named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. (In winning the honor, Gasol received 114 more votes than the runner-up.) He is a two-time All-Star. It has been said that the Lakers’ acquisition of Gasol transformed them from mere playoff contenders to a true championship-caliber team. In fact, he is currently trying to help lead the storied Los Angeles Lakers to their 15^th NBA championship. Now, let’s get to know this NBA superstar a little bit better.

Gasol was born in Barcelona, Spain on July 6, 1980 at the Sant Pau Hospital, which he was named for. His mother, Marisa, is a doctor; his father, Agusti, is a hospital administrator. Both are former professional basketball players. When Pau was growing up, Marisa and Agusti insisted that his studies came before basketball, and it certainly paid off.

Pau attended the University of Barcelona’s medical school at the age of 18 for one year before leaving to pursue his dream of becoming a professional basketball player. After he retires from the NBA, he plans to become a doctor. About simultaneously going to medical school and playing pro ball, he has said, “Well, it was really hard, but it made me strong and tough as a person. I matured a lot and learned to value a lot of things because I put so much hard work into both medicine and basketball. But I had to make a choice and I did. Over the years I found out how hard medicine was, what a big sacrifice it is to get all the way through it. There’s a reason doctors are mostly well paid. It’s very, very hard.” He has also said, “Medicine is really amazing to me and it always inspired and motivated me.” When asked about his favorite books, Gasol responded, “It’s called La Cathedra Del Mar. It’s about the history of how one of the main cathedrals in Barcelona was built. There’s a story involving characters that makes it very interesting to read. It’s similar to another favorite of mine, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Both are over 1,000 pages, but you get a great deal of information from them in the historical fiction genre. I also like mystery novels and fiction, combined with a touch of reality. I just like learning. I also enjoy books from Ryszard Kapuceciñski, a Polish man known by some as the ‘Father of Journalism.’ He was a foreign correspondent who would tell you what his experiences were from where he was doing his reporting, and wrote books that gave a really interesting historical look of what went on in places like Africa. I’m interested in Africa, particularly countries I’ve been to like South Africa and Angola. He talks about his experiences in those countries in two of his books, such as the Civil War in South Africa.” In 2003, Gasol was named as the Ambassador for Spain’s UNICEF committee. On behalf of the committee, he has traveled to South Africa and Angola to support the fight against HIV/AIDS. He speaks three languages, English, Spanish, and Catalan.

He has two younger brothers, Marc and Adria, who also are basketball players. When Pau was traded from the Grizzlies to the Lakers, one of the players Los Angeles had to surrender was the also 7-foot Marc. While the Lakers did have to give up other players as well, the deal effectively made Pau and Marc the first ever brothers to be traded for each other in American sports. Perhaps Adria, who is around 15 and 6’5”, will follow his brothers to the NBA.

Pau’s favorite pastimes include going to the beach, relaxing at home, and watching basketball games and movies. Some of his other favorites are as follows: frosted flakes (cereal); sushi (meal; especially likes doro, sea urchin, and salmon); Nobu (restaurant); Shunka (restaurant in Barcelona); tennis (sport other than basketball); Rafael Nadal (tennis player); Friends (TV show); Phoebe (female character on Friends); Jack Nicholson, Kevin Spacey, and Anthony Hopkins (actors); Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, and Salma Hayek (actresses); Braveheart and Gladiator (movies); Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (city other than Barcelona); Miami (NBA city); FC Barcelona (soccer team); and “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M., “One” by U2, and “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane (songs). His favorite sport after basketball and tennis is soccer. He does not like spicy foods. On Friends, for male characters, he liked Chandler and Joey more than Ross. For TV shows, he also liked The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sanford and Son. (He also knows the “Fresh Prince” theme by heart.) He is friends with actress Penelope Cruz and her sister, and he is very close with Nadal. Gasol enjoys playing tennis and used to do so frequently when basketball was not in season, but he has never played against Nadal, the #1-ranked men’s player in the world. Also, he is interested in interior design and likes to read magazines about home furnishings.

When he was traded to the Lakers, Gasol became teammates with one of basketball’s all-time greats, Kobe Bryant, who has nothing but good things to say about Pau. During halftime of the Lakers game against the Boston Celtics that was played on Christmas Day 2008, Bryant was interviewed by former Laker and NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson. In the interview, Kobe called Gasol “one of the best in the world.” In addition, Johnson asked Bryant about the MVP award he had won after the previous season. The first thing Kobe said was, “It’s a lot easier with Pau Gasol.” He has also said that the pair “bonded quickly” after the trade. Gasol’s best friend on the team is Slovenian shooting guard Sasha Vujacic. The team’s good chemistry with Gasol coupled with his talent is undoubtedly a major contributing factor to the Lakers reaching the NBA Finals in each of Pau’s first two seasons (or, really, one and a half seasons) with the team.

Once, Gasol and Vujacic were invited to be guest D.J.’s for Los Angeles-based radio station 100.3 “The Sound.” Pau’s playlist was composed of his favorite songs plus “Purple Rain” by Prince, “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bob Marley, “Sad Eyes” by Bruce Springsteen, and “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica. Gasol is also a fan of the band Kings of Leon.

Pau Gasol is intelligent, skilled, talented, classy, elegant, and a host of other positive things. He is the most well-known member of a basketball family. Rookie of the Year, two-time All-Star, the holder of many Grizzlies’ franchise records—these are just some of the many accolades to his name. Now, his Lakers lead the Orlando Magic two games to none in the 2009 NBA Finals as he attempts to add another attribute to his already impressive NBA résumé.