Marc Gasol Sáez is a Spanish professional basketball player who plays for the Memphis
Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Gasol was an NBA All-Star in 2012 and won
the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2013.
He was drafted in the second round, 48th overall, by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA
draft. He stands 7'1" tall and is the younger brother of fellow NBA player, Pau Gasol.
Early years While he spent almost all of his childhood
in the Barcelona area, he moved as a teenager with his parents to the Memphis suburb of
Germantown, Tennessee in 2001, after his older brother Pau Gasol was drafted by the Atlanta
Hawks and then had his rights traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, who finalized their move
from Vancouver just after the draft. Gasol played high school basketball at Lausanne
Collegiate School in Memphis. Nicknamed "the Big Burrito", he was named Division 2's Mr.
Basketball in 2003 following a senior season in which he averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds
and six blocks per game. In 2008, Lausanne retired Gasol's #33 jersey. His parents still
live in Germantown. Pro career
Europe After his graduation from Lausanne, Gasol
returned to his home country of Spain to play in the Liga ACB to play for FC Barcelona.
After his solid play in the 2006 world championships, Gasol accepted an offer from Akasvayu Girona,
where he played two seasons and was named the 2008 ACB Most Valuable Player.
NBA Gasol was drafted in the second round, 48th
overall, by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA Draft. On February 1, 2008, his draft
rights were traded by the Lakers to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a trade package that
included his older brother, Pau, who went to the Lakers. No other instance is known
where an NBA player was traded for his brother. On June 23, 2008 he signed a contract with
the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol met his rookie season with success,
scoring 10-plus points in 10 straight games on 49-for-84 shooting in October 2008. Gasol
broke the franchise rookie record of the highest field goal percentage at the end of the season
by shooting 53%. The previous record was held by his older brother Pau, who shot 51.8% from
the field his rookie season. 2009–2010 season
2010–2011 season He averaged 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds while
starting 81 games in the regular season. In the 2011 playoffs Gasol averaged 15 points,
11.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists, helping the Grizzlies upset top-seeded San Antonio Spurs
before pushing Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the semifinals. He finished second
in rebounds per game and third with 2.15 blocks per game in the playoffs. Gasol’s exceptional
work raised up his value even more. The Memphis Grizzlies extended a qualifying offer to restricted
free agent Gasol, giving them the chance to match any offer he might get during the offseason.
2011–2012 season In December 2011, Gasol signed a four-year
$58-million extension with the Memphis Grizzlies During the week of January 16–22, Gasol
led the Grizzlies to a perfect 4–0 record, averaging 19.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists,
and 2.5 blocks. Gasol reached three point-rebound double-doubles in those four games, earning
him Western Conference Player of the Week honors. He entered his first All-Star game
as a reserve player. During the 2011-2012 season, he averaged 14.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.1
apg, and 1.9 bpg in 36.5 mpg. In the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the Grizzlies
lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games.
2012–2013 season Gasol was named the NBA Defensive Player of
the Year for the 2012–13 season. He became the first European player to win the award.
He averaged 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steal per game during the season, making him one of only
six players to average at least 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals. Memphis surrendered a league-low
88.7 points per game. According to NBA.com, Gasol's +5.4 score differential ranked second
among the league's centers. The Grizzlies also had a +7.5 score differential when Gasol
was playing versus −3.9 when he was on the bench. ESPN lauded the Grizzlies' ability
to force turnovers with Gasol on the court anchoring the defense. Gasol also averaged
4.0 assists per game with 318 for the season, the highest total among all NBA centers.
Despite being named the Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol was left off the NBA All-Defensive
First Team and was named to the Second Team instead. Of the players named to both teams,
Gasol received the least amount of votes. The Defensive Player of the Year was named
by sportswriters, while the All-Defensive Team members were named by coaches.
Spanish national team
In 2006, Gasol was named to the Spanish national team to the world championships in Japan as
a replacement for NBA-draftee Fran Vazquez. Gasol was part of the Spanish national basketball
team that won gold medals at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and the 2009 FIBA European
Championships. He also won silver medals at the 2007 FIBA European Championship, the 2008
Olympics Basketball Tournament, and the 2012 Olympics Basketball Tournament.
Awards and accomplishments USA
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division 2 "Mr. Basketball"
NBA All-Rookie Second Team NBA All-Star
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award All-NBA Second Team
NBA All-Defensive Second Team Spain
Won the Spanish Championship Won the Spanish Supercup
Won the EuroChallenge Championship Won the Catalan Tournament
Spanish ACB League MVP Spanish national team
2006 FIBA World Championship: Gold Medal 2007 FIBA European Championship: Silver Medal
2008 Olympic Basketball Tournament: Silver Medal
2009 FIBA European Championship: Gold Medal 2011 FIBA European Championship: Gold Medal
2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament: Silver Medal
2013 FIBA European Championship: Bronze Medal 2013 FIBA EuroBasket All-Tournament Team
NBA career statistics Regular season
Playoffs See also
National Basketball Association portal List of European basketball players in the
United States References
External links
Marc Gasol on Twitter Career statistics and player information from
NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com 2010 FIBA World Championship Profile
The Other Gasol Article Basketball club founded by Marc Gasol in Girona