Marc Gasol facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Marc Gasol

Gasol in 2019

Bàsquet Girona

President

Personal information

Born

29 January 1985 (age 40)
Barcelona, Spain

High school

Lausanne Collegiate
(Memphis, Tennessee)

Listed height

6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)

Listed weight

255 lb (116 kg)

Career information

NBA Draft

2007 / Round: 2 / Pick: 48th overall

Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers

Pro career

2003–2023

League

Liga ACB

Career history

2003–2006

FC Barcelona

2006–2008

CB Girona

2008–2019

Memphis Grizzlies

2019–2020

Toronto Raptors

2020–2021

Los Angeles Lakers

2021–2023

Bàsquet Girona

Career highlights and awards

NBA champion (2019)
3× NBA All-Star (2012, 2015, 2017)
All-NBA First Team (2015)
All-NBA Second Team (2013)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2013)
NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2013)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2009)
No. 33 retired by Memphis Grizzlies
Liga ACB champion (2004)
FIBA EuroCup winner (2007)
ACB Most Valuable Player Award (2008)
All-ACB Team (2008)
LEB Oro Final Four MVP (2022)
Euroscar Player of the Year (2014)

Medals

Men's basketball

Representing Spain
Olympic Games
Silver	2008 Beijing	Team
Silver	2012 London	Team
World Cup
Gold	2006 Japan	Team
Gold	2019 China	Team
FIBA Eurobasket
Gold	2009 Poland	Team
Gold	2011 Lithuania	Team
Silver	2007 Spain	Team
Bronze	2013 Slovenia	Team
Bronze	2017 Turkey	Team

Marc Gasol Sáez (born on January 29, 1985) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He is now the president of Bàsquet Girona, a basketball team in Spain. He played as a center, a position in basketball.

Marc Gasol was chosen for the All-NBA Team twice and was an NBA All-Star three times. In 2013, he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award with the Memphis Grizzlies. He also won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

Gasol was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA draft. His rights were later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008. He played for the Grizzlies until 2019, then joined the Toronto Raptors. In 2020, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers for one season.

Marc has been a key player for the Spanish national team since 2006. He has won two silver medals at the Olympics. He also has two FIBA Basketball World Cup titles. In the EuroBasket tournaments, he has won two gold medals, one silver, and two bronze medals.

Early Life and High School Basketball

Marc Gasol was born and grew up in Barcelona, Spain. In 2001, when he was a teenager, he moved with his family to Germantown, Tennessee, near Memphis, Tennessee. This happened after his older brother, Pau Gasol, joined the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team.

Marc played high school basketball at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis. People called him "The Big Burrito." In 2003, he was named Division 2's Mr. Basketball. This was after a great senior year where he scored 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked six shots per game. In 2008, Lausanne honored Gasol by retiring his number 33 jersey.

Professional Career Highlights

Gasol with Girona in May 2008

Playing in Spain (2003–2008)

After finishing high school, Gasol went back to Spain. He played in the Liga ACB for FC Barcelona Bàsquet from 2003 to 2006.

After three seasons with Barcelona, Gasol joined Girona in 2006. In 2008, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the ACB League.

Memphis Grizzlies (2008–2019)

Starting in the NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers picked Marc Gasol as the 48th player in the 2007 NBA draft. On February 1, 2008, his draft rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. This trade also involved his older brother, Pau, who went from the Grizzlies to the Lakers.

Marc signed with the Grizzlies on July 9, 2008. He set a new team record for rookies with a 53 percent field goal accuracy. He was also named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In his first three NBA seasons, Gasol led the Grizzlies in shooting accuracy and blocked shots.

Becoming an All-Star

On December 14, 2011, Gasol signed a new four-year contract with the Grizzlies. On February 9, 2012, he was chosen as an NBA All-Star for the first time. He joined the Western Conference team as a reserve for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.

Defensive Player of the Year

In the 2012–13 season, Gasol was one of only six players to average at least 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. He led the Grizzlies' defense, which allowed the fewest points per game in the league.

In April 2013, he was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was the first Grizzlies player, the first Spanish man, and the first European to win this award. He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team.

Gasol in November 2013, playing against Blake Griffin

Injury and First Team Selection

In the 2013–14 season, Gasol played only 59 games. He had a left knee injury that kept him out for 23 games.

The 2014–15 season was a great one for Gasol. He was chosen for his second NBA All-Star game and started for the first time. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team. He averaged a career-high 17.4 points per game.

Contract Extension and Triple-Doubles

On July 13, 2015, Gasol signed a new five-year contract with the Grizzlies. On November 20, he achieved his first career triple-double. He had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a win against the Houston Rockets. This was the first triple-double for Memphis since his brother Pau did it in 2007.

Gasol missed the second half of the 2015–16 season due to a broken right foot. He played a career-low 52 games that season.

Gasol in November 2013

On December 5, 2016, Gasol recorded his second career triple-double. He had 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a double-overtime win. On January 25, 2017, he scored a career-high 42 points against the Toronto Raptors. A day later, he was named an NBA All-Star for the third time.

On December 2, 2017, Gasol scored his 10,000th career point. In February 2018, he played his 700th NBA game. He also passed Mike Conley Jr. for the most games started in Grizzlies history.

In November 2018, Gasol became the Grizzlies' all-time leader in rebounds. On January 23, 2019, he recorded his fifth career triple-double. He had 22 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Toronto Raptors (2019–2020)

On February 7, 2019, Gasol was traded to the Toronto Raptors. He quickly became the starting center for the Raptors. His passing skills helped the team become one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA.

He helped the Raptors reach the 2019 NBA Finals. In his first NBA Finals game, Gasol scored 20 points. The Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games to win the championship. Marc and his brother Pau became the first brothers to both win NBA titles. Pau had won two championships in 2009 and 2010.

On June 26, 2019, Gasol decided to stay with the Toronto Raptors for the 2019–20 NBA season.

Los Angeles Lakers (2020–2021)

On November 24, 2020, Gasol signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. He missed nine games during the season after getting COVID-19. He started 42 games but missed 20 others. He averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

In the playoffs, the Lakers lost in the first round. On September 10, 2021, Gasol was traded back to the Memphis Grizzlies. However, he was released by the Grizzlies five days later.

Bàsquet Girona (2021–2023)

On November 25, 2021, Gasol announced he would play for Bàsquet Girona. This is a club he founded, and it was in the LEB Oro league at the time. He helped the team get promoted to the top Spanish league, Liga ACB, for the first time. Girona won the promotion playoffs final. Gasol scored 11 points, had 8 rebounds, and 4 steals in that important game.

Marc Gasol officially announced his retirement from playing basketball on January 31, 2024.

National Team Career

Marc and his brother Pau playing for Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics

In 2006, Gasol joined the Spanish national team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. Spain won the gold medal there, and also at the EuroBasket 2009.

He also won silver medals at the EuroBasket 2007, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won his second World Cup title with Spain at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.

He also won gold medals at the EuroBasket 2011, and bronze medals at the EuroBasket 2013 and EuroBasket 2017.

At the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Gasol won his second World Cup title. He scored 33 points in the semi-final game against Australia. In the final against Argentina, he scored 14 points, had 7 assists, 2 steals, and blocked 3 shots. He was named to the World Cup All-Star Team. Gasol became only the second player ever to win an NBA championship and a World Cup in the same year.

After Spain lost to the United States men's national basketball team at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, Marc and his brother Pau Gasol announced they were retiring from the Spanish national team. This marked the end of a very successful time for the Spanish team.

Awards and Accomplishments

In the US and Canada

Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division 2 "Mr. Basketball" (2003)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2009)
3× NBA All-Star (2012, 2015, 2017)
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award (2013)
All-NBA Second Team (2013)
NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2013)
All-NBA First Team (2015)
NBA champion (2019)