Marc Gasol

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Gasol and the second or maternal family name is Sáez.
Marc Gasol

Gasol with the Grizzlies
No. 33 – Memphis Grizzlies
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born January 29, 1985
Barcelona, Spain
Nationality Spanish
Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight 265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school Lausanne Collegiate School
(Memphis, Tennessee)
NBA draft 2007 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career 2003–present
Career history
2003–2006 FC Barcelona (Spain)
2006–2008 Akasvayu Girona (Spain)
2008–present Memphis Grizzlies
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com

Marc Gasol Sáez (born January 29, 1985) is a Spanish professional basketball player who currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted 48th overall in the 2007 NBA draft and went on to sign with the Grizzlies where he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2013. He is a two-time NBA All-Star. The 7'1" center is the younger brother of fellow NBA player Pau Gasol.

Early years

Gasol playing for Girona in 2008.

While he spent almost all of his childhood in the Barcelona area, Gasol moved as a teenager with his parents to the Memphis suburb of Germantown, Tennessee in 2001, after his older brother Pau was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks and then had his rights traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, who finalized their move from Vancouver just after the draft. Gasol played high school basketball at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis.[1] Nicknamed "the Big Burrito",[2] he was named Division 2's Mr. Basketball in 2003 following a senior season in which he averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks per game.[3] In 2008, Lausanne retired Gasol's #33 jersey.[4] His parents still live in Germantown.[5]

After graduating from Lausanne, Gasol returned to his home country of Spain to play in the Liga ACB for FC Barcelona. After his solid play in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Gasol accepted an offer from Akasvayu Girona,[2] where he played two seasons and was named the 2008 ACB Most Valuable Player.

NBA career

Memphis Grizzlies (2008–present)

Gasol in 2013

Gasol was selected with the 48th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA draft. On February 1, 2008, his draft rights were traded by the Lakers to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a trade package that included his older brother, Pau, who was sent from the Grizzlies to the Lakers. No other instance is known where an NBA player was traded for his brother.

2008–09 season

On July 9, 2008, Gasol signed with the Grizzlies.[6] He went on to start his rookie season in fine form, scoring 10-plus points in 10 straight games on 49-for-84 shooting in November 2008.[7] He finished the season with a .530 field goal percentage, a franchise record, beating out a record previously held by his brother, Pau, who shot 51.8% from the field his rookie season.[8]

2009–10 season

In his second season, Gasol saw an increased amount of playing time, going from 30.7 minutes per game to 35.8. He used his increased amount of minutes to average 14.6 points with 9.3 rebounds per game. He also recorded a career high field goal percentage at 58.1%, ranking 4th in the league.[9]

2010–11 season

In 2010–11, Gasol averaged 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 81 games (all starts). He went on to average 15.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.1 assists per game during the playoffs, helping the Grizzlies upset top-seeded San Antonio Spurs before pushing Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the semi-finals. He finished second in rebounds per game and third in blocks per game during the playoffs.[10]

On June 24, 2011, the Grizzlies extended a qualifying offer to Gasol in order to make him a restricted free agent, giving them the chance to match any offer he might get during the offseason.[10]

2011–12 season

On December 14, 2011, Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies to a four-year, $58 million contract.[11] During the week of January 16–22, Gasol led the Grizzlies to a perfect 4–0 record, averaging 19.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. During that time, he recorded three double-doubles, earning him Western Conference Player of the Week honors.[12] He was later named an NBA All-Star for the first time, starting as a reserve for the West. In 2011–12, he averaged 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.9 blocks in 65 games (all starts). In the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the Grizzlies lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games.

2012–13 season

After averaging 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per game during the 2012–13 season, Gasol was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first European player to win the award. In 2012–13, Memphis surrendered a league-low 88.7 points per game. According to NBA.com, Gasol's +5.4 score differential ranked second among the league's centers. The Grizzlies also had a +7.5 score differential when Gasol was playing versus −3.9 when he was on the bench.[13] ESPN lauded the Grizzlies' ability to force turnovers with Gasol on the court anchoring the defense.[14] Gasol also averaged 14.1 points and 4.0 assists per game – his 318 assists for the season were the highest total among all centers.[15]

Despite being named the Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol was left off the NBA All-Defensive first team and was named to the second team instead. Of the players named to both teams, Gasol received the least amount of votes.[16] The Defensive Player of the Year was named by sportswriters, while the All-Defensive team members were named by coaches.[17]

2013–14 season

Gasol backing down Blake Griffin

In 2013–14, Gasol played a career low 59 games for the season. He was sidelined for two months in November 2013 with a knee injury, and in those 23 games he missed, the Grizzlies were just 10-13 and had a season-high five-game losing streak in that time. In 59 games with Gasol available, the Grizzlies were 40-19 – a 56-win pace when extended over a full 82-game schedule.[18] He finished the season with averages of 14.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 assists per game.

2014–15 season

On October 29, 2014, Gasol scored a then career-high 32 points as the Grizzlies beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-101 for the franchise's first victory in a season opener since 2000, the year before the team moved to Memphis.[19] He tied his career-high with 32 points against the Boston Celtics on November 21, 2014.[20] Gasol went on to record 28 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists in the 107-101 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on December 5 despite suffering bone bruising in his right knee against Houston two nights earlier, staking his claim as one of the top MVP candidates in the process.[21] In the Grizzlies' season finale on April 15, Gasol scored a career-high 33 points in a 95-83 win over the Indiana Pacers.[22]

International career

Marc and Pau playing for Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In 2006, Gasol was named to the Spanish national team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan as a replacement for NBA-draftee Fran Vazquez.[2] Spain went on to win the gold medal in Japan, as well as at the 2009 FIBA EuroBasket. He also won silver medals at the 2007 FIBA EuroBasket, the 2008 Olympics and the 2012 Olympics.

Awards and accomplishments

USA

Spain

European Player of the Year awards

Spanish national team

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Memphis 82 75 30.7 .530 .000 .733 7.4 1.7 0.8 1.1 11.9
2009–10 Memphis 69 69 35.8 .581 .000 .670 9.3 2.4 1.0 1.6 14.6
2010–11 Memphis 81 81 31.9 .527 .429 .748 7.0 2.5 0.9 1.7 11.7
2011–12 Memphis 65 65 36.5 .482 .083 .748 8.9 3.1 1.0 1.9 14.6
2012–13 Memphis 80 80 35.0 .494 .071 .848 7.8 4.0 1.0 1.7 14.1
2013–14 Memphis 59 59 33.4 .473 .182 .768 7.2 3.6 1.0 1.3 14.6
2014–15 Memphis 81 81 33.2 .494 .176 .795 7.8 3.8 0.9 1.6 17.4
Career 517 510 33.7 .509 .159 .758 7.9 3.0 0.9 1.6 14.1
All-Star 1 0 13.0 .400 .000 .000 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011 Memphis 13 13 39.9 .511 .000 .699 11.2 2.2 1.1 2.2 15.0
2012 Memphis 7 7 37.3 .522 .000 .791 6.7 3.1 0.3 1.9 15.1
2013 Memphis 15 15 40.6 .454 .000 .800 8.5 3.2 0.9 2.2 17.2
2014 Memphis 7 7 42.7 .405 .000 .794 7.7 4.4 1.7 0.9 17.3
Career 42 42 40.2 .467 .000 .767 8.9 3.1 1.0 1.9 16.2

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, Lee (March 29, 2010). "The power of Pau". Sports Illustrated. p. 2. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The (Big) Man Skilled in All Ways of Contending". Grantland. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ Smith, Jason. "Lausanne honors former star, Griz rookie Gasol". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Grizz Marc Gasol's High School Days".
  5. ↑ Jenkins, Lee (March 29, 2010). "The power of Pau". Sports Illustrated. p. 3. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Grizzlies sign 2008 ACB Most Valuable Player Marc Gasol". Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Marc Gasol 2008-09 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Atlanta Hawks vs. Memphis Grizzlies - Recap - April 15, 2009 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  9. ↑ "2009-10 NBA Leaders". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Grizzlies extend qualifying offer to Marc Gasol". NBA.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Report -- Memphis Grizzlies re-sign Marc Gasol for four years, nearly $58 million - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Magic's Howard, Grizzlies' Gasol named Players of the Week". NBA.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Grizzlies' Gasol named Kia Defensive Player of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 24, 2013. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013.
  14. ↑ Saini, Sunny (April 24, 2013). "Gasol's stingy defense earns award". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013.
  15. ↑ "2012-13 Regular Season NBA Player Stats and League Leaders - Assists - National Basketball Association - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ Official Release (May 13, 2013). "Allen, James headline 2012-13 NBA All-Defensive First Team". NBA.com. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  17. ↑ Marc Gasol left off LeBron James-led all-defensive team
  18. ↑ "Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol Mum On Free Agency". Hoops Habit. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Timberwolves at Grizzlies". NBA.com. October 29, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Celtics at Grizzlies". NBA.com. November 21, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Spurs at Grizzlies". NBA.com. December 5, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Pacers' playoff hopes end with 95-83 loss to Grizzlies". NBA.com. April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

External links

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