It was a nostalgic moment for the NBA world as basketball legend Pau Gasol announced his retirement from the sport.
Gasol, 41, spent the last few seasons playing overseas in Spain following his last stint in the NBA in 2018 with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Spaniard became a revered figure in the league because of the talent he possessed at his size, and his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers was filled with memorable moments.
His style of play ended up having an influence on kids who watched him growing up, such as Russell Westbrook, the newest star of the Lakers. Westbrook explained how Gasol influenced his game.
“I’ll tell y’all an interesting fact that nobody knows about me,” Westbrook said. “Pau was actually my favorite player growing up before Kobe because I just liked how he played the game. I feel like he played the game the right way. … He could pass it. He could shoot it, score it. To me, I just liked the way he played the game at his size.”
Westbrook continued about how he tried to model some aspects of his game after Gasol, so it’s definitely an intriguing nugget to see how Westbrook developed his skills.
The 32-year-old guard played against Gasol a few times during the latter stages of the Spaniard’s career, so Westbrook can always say he went head-to-head with one of his idols.
