Marc Gasol became an NBA champion in 2019 after the Toronto Raptors had a magical run, led by Kawhi Leonard to the promised land. The Spanish big man was a key piece for his team, too, and when he won that ring, the feeling was indescribable. He became the second Gasol to be an NBA champion but Pau, his older brother, wasn’t impressed by that.
Talking with Marc Stein of the New York Times in 2019, Gasol revealed that Pau was picking him when they met after he won his ring. According to the 2019 FIBA World Cup champion, his brother reminded him that he had two, one more than Marc. He didn’t care a lot about him and bragged about the celebration, explaining that he enjoyed it like he had won five championships.
Stein: How is your brother Pau taking it that there are two N.B.A. champions in the family now?
Gasol: He keeps saying that he has two rings. I just say, “Maybe you have two, but I celebrated mine like it’s five, so I beat you on that one.”
I didn’t know that I cared that much — that it fulfilled me in a way that I didn’t know it could. Instantly you gain so much respect for everyone who has done this. Golden State, going to five straight finals and the rings that they have, I just instantly got so much respect for them. And LeBron going to eight finals in a row. Just doing it once put me beyond the limits I thought I had — physically and mentally. It was great to see, for myself, pushing those limits and leaving everything out there. It was awesome.
That must have been an incredible feeling. Marc and the Raptors failed to defend their championship last season but he’s ready to make another run at it with his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Curiously, the team where his brother won his back-to-back rings.
Gasol is a great addition to the Lakers and he’s probably the key they needed to reaffirm their condition of favorites. Anthony Davis and LeBron James got the right help for this season, and they’ll surely take advantage of having Gasol on the team.
