Nearly three years after his final game in the league, former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol announced his retirement Wednesday.
Gasol spent 14 seasons in the league.
He announced his decision in a video on his Instagram account with the caption, “End of a chapter. Thank you.”
Gasol moved to Memphis in 2001 after his older brother Pau was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies after completing high school. Gasol returned to his native Spain to play professional basketball for FC Barcelona and CB Girona.
While still playing for CB Girona, Gasol was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft. He remained in Spain through 2008, and before he could suit up for the Lakers, the team traded his rights back to Memphis in exchange for a package involving his brother Pau.
He was named to the All-Rookie Second Team following his first NBA season. Gasol averaged 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and started to show flashes of the solid defensive presence he would morph into.
Gasol was named to his first NBA All-Star Team in 2012 and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, the first Grizzlies player to ever win the award. He remained with the Grizzlies until being traded to the Toronto Raptors before the 2019 trade deadline. In his time with the Grizzlies, Gasol set franchise records for field goals, rebounds, blocked shots, and minutes played.
Gasol proved to be just what Toronto needed to get over the hump, as the Raptors went on to win the 2019 NBA Championship, making Marc and Pau the first set of brothers to win NBA Championships.
After the 2020 season, Gasol brought his career full circle and signed with the Lakers. In 52 games for the Lakers, he averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Gasol returned to Spain in 2021, continuing to play until he announced his retirement.
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