Former Lakers Center Officially Retires From Basketball
By Cem Yolbulan
Marc Gasol, of the best defensive big men of his generation and an international basketball icon, has decided to retire from professional basketball. The decorated Spanish center who spent his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, and most recently the Los Angeles Lakers, is hanging up his sneakers at the age of 39.
NBA News: Marc Gasol is Retiring from Professional Basketball
After 20 professional seasons and 13 in NBA, Marc Gasol has retired from basketball. He played for Grizzlies, Raptors and Lakers, winning the 2019 NBA title in Toronto, making three All-Star teams and one All-NBA team. Memphis plans to retire his No. 33 jersey. pic.twitter.com/vGC8DbyxUt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 31, 2024
The younger brother of Lakers legend Pau Gasol, Marc was a second-round pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.
After spending the first 11 seasons of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies where he became a three-time All-Star and a one-time Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol was traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2019. In one of the best in-season trades in recent NBA history, Gasol helped the Raptors win their only NBA championship later that season.
After his stint with the Raptors, Gasol signed with the Lakers in free agency with the hopes of replacing Dwight Howard after the 2020 championship. However, Gasol failed to become a mainstay in Los Angeles, eventually losing his starting job to Andre Drummond in the middle of the season.
Gasol spent the last two campaigns of his career with the club he founded in Girona, Spain. He remains a legendary figure in European basketball, having won two Olympic silver medals, two World Cup gold medals, and two Eurobasket gold medals with the Spanish national team.
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