Pau Gasol is a professional NBA player of Spanish origin who began his professional basketball career with FC Barcelona Basketball in 1999, where he remained until 2001. That same year, Gasol was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Draft. Gasol did not play for the Hawks, as the player was transferred to the Memphis Grizzlies in the preseason. The Spaniard remained linked to the Grizzlies until February 2008 when he moved to the LA Lakers. Throughout his entire career with the Gizzlies, Gasol scored several records, such as a free-throw percentage of .819, scored an average of 20.8 points per game and played a maximum of 82 games as a starter among others. He was also named to play in the All-Star game of 2006 with the Western Conference. In his debut as a starter with the Lakers, Gasol led the team to finish the season with a record of 57 wins and 25 defeats, at that time the best among teams in the Western Conference. During the 2008 playoffs, Gasol was the second player in the Lakers with the highest percentage of points (16.9), 9.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He was the leader in blocked shots with 1.90 per game, and along with Lamar Odom completed the most double-doubles (10) in the post-season. Gasol's excellent performance in his first year with the Lakers, earned him a Rookie of the Year award, a feat so far not granted to any other foreign player. In 2008, the Lakers reached the NBA Finals but were defeated in a series of six games against the Boston Celtics. The following season (2008-09), Gasol continued his good performance and is named for the second time to participate in the All-Star Game, where the Western Conference won 146-119 over the Eastern Conference. That same season, Gasol reached the 10,000 points mark. Gasol lead the Lakers to the NBA Finals in 2009. The 14 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks of Spaniard in the last game were key in the Lakers win over the Orlando Magic and ultimately in winning the NBA champions. In late 2009, Gasol extended his contract with the Lakers with a 3 year deal worth 64.7 million dollars. In 2009-10, Pau is called for the third time to be part of NBA All-Stars game. Gasol finished the regular season with an average of 18.3 points per game, 11.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 blocks. With 19 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks from Gasol, the Lakers won the seventh game of the finals to the Boston Celtics to be crowned NBA champions for the seventeenth time. Among the most remarkable achievements of Pau Gasol we could name 2 NBA Championships (2009, 2010), two Player of the Year of the FIBA Europe (2008, 2009), Player of the Year Euroscan (2008, 2009) three NBA All-Stars games, a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and a gold medal in EuroBasket 2009. Pau Gasol now has become a key figure for the Lakers. Gasol's is now among the top 10 players on the chase for this season’s MVP award.
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