So much so that he stayed up the night before the wizards game to welcome pau to the team.obviously Pau wasn’t able to play the first game after being traded due to not having a practice yet
+jesbran silva Bro by himself he took the Lakers to the playoffs in a super stacked West at the time. Ppl always called him a ballhog but it truely was a better basketball decision before for him to shoot over 2-3 defenders then to pass to a Smush Parker, a Luke Walton or a Chris Mihm. I knew it too, doesn't take a crystal ball, just basketball knowledge. The very same year the got to the finals and if Bynum didn't get injured they woulda won 3 rings in a row, instead it was 3 finals appearances and 2 of them we won.
Don't forget 2011. I know we didn't make the Finals and I know Bynum wasn't injured in that year's playoffs but if the chemistry wasn't so bad then we would've probably beaten the Heat in 7. I guess the Lakers were being cocky that year.
Joshua Han wrong,Bynum played in the playoffs in the 1st 2 rounds. They were exhausted from making the finals 2 years in a row,constant rivalry/statement games and making the playoffs for the 3rd time straight. The triangle allows 3peats but it takes a huge toll on the star players. Look at the 98 bulls going into the playoffs you’ll understand what I mean (despite it was a rebuilding season for the rest of the nba and that was when the 72-10 record was born). The warriors will face the same tiredness (they already are coming off 4 finals appearances in a row).
I love you Pau Gasol. So inspiring as a person. Not only is Pau my only favorite basketball player ever... I am such a lifetime fan of his whole goodness. I must buy his book as a Christmas present for myself. Plus getting a good winning game at Christmas day!!
I remember watching this game and feeling so refreshened after having watched Kobe try to single-handedly carry the team for 4-years previously. I can’t remember the exact stats but I remember Kobe not needing to have a nuclear level scoring night for the Lakers to be competitive. I was also excited to see how well Pau seemed to fit in with the team during his Laker debut. Great times, great memories.
I love to see how happy Kobe was. He knew instantly where he was going to be able to lead the team with the addition of Pau. Looking forward to the Lakers retiring Pau's number March 7, 2023
all the laker fans should thank this guy for winning those 2 championship.A Hall of Fame a player.He gives a world basketball championship in spain and a silver.2 silver in the olympics and Euro basket titles.HE IS A WINNER.ARGUABLY BEST EUROPEAN PLAYER
@@johnmarkes2038 Yeah and he was a choke artist right after 2010. He sucked in the playoffs of 2011/2012 and cost the lakers some serious Lz. He brought his own personal problems to the court and u could see it in his game. I still love him and respect him as a great player. Just wished he didnt play so much worse than I'm used to seeing him in those 2011/2012 playoff series. Lakers would won another ring for sure if he only had stepped up
Dam i forgot how huge that was when we got him.. maybe because he fit in immediately. That was the happiest ive seen kobe in a long ass time thats crazy.. i kinda miss pau although he wasnt playin like he has in chicago
+Monee Boiii He wasn't playing like he has in chicago because he wasn't given the chance to play like he knows. Constantly being forced to play far from his optimal position, team plays not running through him. If you have a tremendous 7 footer offensive big man who knows how to handle the ball, is a great passer, has great ball IQ, great post moves, and you force him to play wide, how the f.ck do you expect him to perform?. Also, how about the constant cries about Gasol being soft?. Guy got everyone insisting on that stupid label for the whole duration of his stay in LA. It didn't matter he totally shut Howard down during the first ring finals. It didn't matter he owned the heck out Celtics' front court in the repeat finals (and one of them ,let's not forget, was KG no less) to the point he was a worthy contender for the finals MVP. Still, during his last 3 years at LA it was a constant stupidity going on about him being "soft"; when he obviously is not. And on top of that during the last 2 seasons in the Lakers he KNEW he was out if the organization could pull a trade including him (that didn't get banned by the NBA, that is). Even being misplayed and even knowing he was being looked as a trade asset rather than a valued player for the franchise, he still was (constantly) playing more than 35 minutes per game and delivering good results: his numbers didn't drop that much even then,he was very close to his career averages all through those seasons too. So blame your own organization for not being able to get the best out of a sublime player , not the player, who performed really well even at the moments when he had everything going against him. Kobe knew better. He knew when Pau arrived, he knew when the organization was looking for a trade, and he knew when Pau left. At every single point he insisted he wanted Pau in the team because he's always known how great a player he is. Sadly it seems he was the only one who really knew that. The whole rest of the organization (most fans included) only realized it once Pau moved on and kept on playing like the amazing player he is in the Bulls.
It was legacy changing dude lol he helped us get to the finals his first year here. I hated how the organization and stupid ass fans treated him towards the end of being a paper though
Pau wore #16, Kobe used to wear #8. Only a year before he had changed to #24. 16+8=24. Pau made a big impact on Kobe's legacy (and he scored 24points that debut night)
Pau deserves to have his jersey retired by the Lakers and I really hope it happens. Without him LA would not have it's latest 2 rings, and it's possibly they wouldn't even have Kobe since he wanted to leave if he couldn't get any help. It really sickens me how badly the Laker organization has treated Pau over the past two years, hopefully things will be better now that he should be a center again.
Pau is a member of the Hall of Fame and his number will be retired. He is a legendary player and one of the 2 best players in European history. Pau and the lakers did not win 3 rings in a row because Pau arrived in January if they signed him at the beginning of the season it would be 3-3 instead of having 2 in a row
I was at this Game as a Laker Fan on life support at the time with the way things been going the few years before that I felt like I got a 2nd chance at life
Pau Gasol is most definitely a Hall of Famer not 1st ballot but he is going look at the numbers in Memphis and has the rings plus a few all star appearances coming a from a KG fan
Amazing trade by the Lakers. Marc Gasol ended up being a great player but he wasn't gonna help the Lakers. Getting Pau Gasol is one of the greatest acquisitions ever.
He jacked up a finger in his shooting hand pretty early on. You can see he only took 13 shots that game, when that happens you know something was wrong with him, you don't have your first scoring option shooting 13 shots a game, after all ;).
I still can't believe the Lakers trading him off I mean yeah they weren't finishing the best seed every year anymore but they were still making the playoffs out west and you never know what could have happened let's just get rid of Pau Gasol and be a terrible team let's go with that direction
Kobe for years had trash teams and had to score 35+ for them to even compete. No wonder he wad so happy. Having only scored 6 points but still winning.
Pau proved to be one hell of a pickup. Kwame Brown 12 years in the league still can't average more than 10 points a game. What a waste of space he's been his whole career. But that's "My Bad!"
