Pau Gasol joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008, where he met Kobe Bryant. The two went on to win 2 NBA titles together during their time before Pau eventually went to the Chicago Bulls in 2014. Pau is often seen spending time with the Bryant family.
Since the passing of Kobe, Pau has been in constant touch with his family. When Gasol’s daughter was born, he honored Kobe and Gianna by naming his daughter Elisabet Gianna Gasol. He even named Vanessa, Kobe’s wife, as the godmother of his child. Gasol shares a good relationship with Kobe’s daughters and is often seen spending time with them.
Uncle Pau with the Bryant girls 💜💛 @paugasol (via vanessabryant/IG) pic.twitter.com/8DPq0Lp8da
— Overtime (@overtime) November 21, 2021
In Amazon’s documentary, Pau Gasol: It’s About the Journey, “He used to tell me, ‘I’ll send you my daughters so you can teach them about culture, awareness, things. And you send me your sons and I’ll teach them to be tough, to fight, to work and go for it.’ Well, I’ll try to be there for his daughters.” said Pau. Indeed, Pau has stayed true to his words.
Pau and his wife Catherine McDonnel along with the Bryant family went on a boat trip in San Francisco. They had a wonderful afternoon together and had a blast. Pau is spotted with the Bryant family on many occasions, from Halloween to Thanksgiving, and even doing ballet with Bianka. Natalia even posted a photo of them together in Disneyland and at the golf course.
How close were Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant’s friendship?
Before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008, he played for the Memphis Grizzlies. He Joined the Lakers and paired up with Kobe Bryant, with whom he went on to win 2 championships. The two had a great relationship on the court as well as off the court. They had mutual respect for each other and shared a brotherly love.
In 2004, the US Olympic Men’s Basketball team lost the gold and sought redemption in Beijing 2008. @KingJames, @DwyaneWade, and Kobe Bryant led The Redeem Team. This is that story. #TUDUM pic.twitter.com/95MCsOQ6h3
— Netflix (@netflix) September 24, 2022
Despite this, in the 2008 Olympics, when Spain and the United States were matched up. They kept their love for each other aside and focused solely on their respective teams. Kobe ran through Gasol’s chest during the first play of the game. Gasol had no hard feelings towards Kobe for that, This goes to show the amount of respect and professionalism each had for the sport and the other.
With their on-court success and competitiveness, they were close outside of basketball. The two developed a special bond during their time together. Kobe loved Pau’s culture, and as mentioned above would send his kids to him to learn from him. When the news broke out that Gasol would be leaving for the Chicago Bulls, he wanted him to stay, it shows how much Kobe respected Pau.
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