As the world prepares to say goodbye to Kobe Bryant's NBA career Wednesday night, everyone has their own thoughts on what his career has meant. On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated published Pau Gasol's own thoughts on what his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate has meant to him. The most interesting part to me was where Gasol spoke on how he joined the Lakers after his trade to L.A. in 2008 from Memphis, and what their first meeting was like.
My first day with the Lakers, I met the team at The Ritz in Washington, D.C., and at 1:30 in the morning there was a knock on my door. I found out later that Kobe doesn’t sleep much. I sat on the bed, I think, and he sat on the table next to the TV. He welcomed me to the team, and then he told me it was “go” time. It was winning time. He felt I could take him to the top again, and he wanted to make sure I knew that. “This is our chance,” he said. It was powerful and meaningful.
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If you play with him, you’re looking every day at living proof of why the greats are the greats. It’s not by accident. It’s an obsession to reach that level and remain at that level. The dedication, the commitment, is such a unique thing. You don’t find it. He inspired me to be better, to see the game in a more detailed way.
We beat the Magic in the 2009 Finals, and everybody was happy, but it was different for him. It had a special meaning. Basketball was his life, and winning was his devotion. I’m not taking anything away from his family, which means the world to him, but basketball had so much depth to it.
Source: Kobe Bryant's farewell: Pau Gasol says goodbye to Lakers star.
That's a tremendous story, and Gasol's thoughts on what make him great, not just those big moments, but the day by day work, show how Gasol really understood what Bryant was about, basketball-wise. The column is also a little hilarious in that not only does Gasol admit that the two never hang out much off-court, but he also turns it into a conversation on how Bryant retiring makes him realize how important it is to find a "special" situation where he can compete for a title.
So expect Gasol to go ring-chasing in free agency this summer.
Bryant and Gasol's relationship was always difficult to figure. Yes, they played great together, but not right from the start. There were real difficulties that first season in L.A.. And throughout their time together, Bryant would repeatedly show frustration with Gasol's intensity and physicality. At the same time, it became apparent that it was because Bryant believed in Gasol. He only bothered to attack those that he felt he could make better. He never badgered Andrew Bynum, because Bynum was never going to change.
Those two made memories for a lot of young Lakers fans, defining their own era in the franchise's storied history. Wherever Gasol is on Wednesday night, you can bet he'll be watching the swan song of his former teammate.
