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Pau Gasol was known as one of the most skilled players in his position during his 19-year NBA career.
The Spaniard produced at a high level the moment he stepped on the NBA court as a rookie in 2001. He quickly became one of the league's top international players.
Earlier this week, the LA Lakers legend officially announced his retirement from professional basketball. In a statement, he said:
"I'm going to retire from professional basketball. It's a difficult decision after so many years, but it's a decision that I really thought over."
Gasol enjoyed an absolutely remarkable career in the NBA and overseas. He was the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft and averaged 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a rookie. He ended up winning the 2001-02 Rookie of the Year award for his performances that season.
Is Pau Gasol Hall of Fame bound?
This is always the first question that comes to mind when a great player announces his retirement. We immediately want to go over his résumé to figure out if his career was good enough to earn the highest honor in the basketball world.
When you take a step back and look at everything that Pau Gasol accomplished in his NBA career, it's hard not to think that he has a serious case for the Hall of Fame.
Let's take a look at why Pau Gasol has a serious case for becoming a first-ballot future NBA Hall of Famer.
#5 His awards
When we go back and look at an NBA player's career, we often forget just how good they were. It's comical, but you can really lose track of how successful a player was over the course of a 19-year career.
Pau Gasol has an impressive résumé of awards to bring forward as a potential Hall of Fame candidate. He was a six-time All-Star and made the All-NBA team four times during his career. As mentioned above, he also won the 2002 Rookie of the Year award.
It's safe to say that these awards are a good start when it comes to cementing Gasol as a future first-ballot NBA Hall of Famer.
#4 His consistency
One of the most impressive parts of Pau Gasol's career is the consistency he showed year after year.
Over the span of 17 seasons, Gasol averaged 17.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He averaged more than 10 points and 7 rebounds in each of those seasons.
Rookies usually take time to find their groove on the biggest stage in the basketball world. However, that wasn't the case for Gasol. Not only did he impress the moment he stepped on the NBA floor, but he also maintained his form for the next 16 years.
#3 Success overseas
A lot of basketball fans like to focus on what a player did during his career in the NBA. However, it's important to remember that the Hall of Fame also has serious international implications.
Not only was Pau Gasol a dominant player at the NBA level, but he also was a key player of the Spanish Olympic basketball team.
Gasol helped Spain win silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, as well as a bronze medal in 2016. One of his biggest accomplishments while playing internationally was leading Spain to the gold medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He also won the MVP award.
#2 A winner at the NBA level
While fans often look at multiple stats to determine whether a player deserves to be in the NBA Hall of Fame, there's usually only one stat that matters. That stat is the number of NBA championships the player has won.
Gasol played a major role in helping Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers win back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010. During the 2010 NBA Finals, Gasol averaged 18.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the Lakers.
According to Basketball Reference, Pau Gasol also has 144 win shares (ranked 31st in the NBA all-time list).
#1 Trust the numbers
Pau Gasol inarguably deserves to be in the NBA Hall of Fame. Since we all love numbers and statistics, here are some impressive numbers that could further help Gasol's case.
The 41-year-old finished his career ranked in the top 50 in total points (20,894), rebounds (11,305), and blocks (1,941).
With those numbers, his awards, and everything he has done overseas, Pau Gasol should be joining the talented roster at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame soon.
Guess the Lakers players!
