Pau Gasol was immersed in the Kobe Bryant experience quickly after landing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Back in 2008, with the Memphis Grizzlies in a rebuild, Gasol was traded to the Lakers. Gasol had put together a solid six-plus seasons in Memphis, but wanted to go to a contender with the Grizzlies tearing things down.
He was sent to the Lakers, meeting the team on the road in Washington after the move. He explained to JJ Redick on his podcast “The Old Man and the Three” that after the trade, Bryant texted him and said to let him know when he got to his room. It was late at night, but Bryant didn’t care.
“Once I got to the room I texted him and said hey I’m here," Gasol recalled. "He came up and from the very beginning he was like, 'I’m very happy that you’re here. Let’s acknowledge that, I’m very happy, very excited that you’re here. But now let’s go f-----g win a title. Let’s go win this thing. I know you’ve already gone through your struggles in Memphis, now this is it. This is our opportunity, we’ve got to go seize it, we’ve got to go after it.'
“So, he got me,” Gasol continued. “He hooked me from the very first moment I landed and we were in the same place with the team, and he didn’t wait until the next day to tell me.”
The Lakers ended up losing to the Boston Celtics in the championship that season, but then went on to win titles in 2009 and 2010. So while the goal Bryant expressed to Gasol in that hotel room didn’t immediately come to pass, it was eventually fulfilled. Twice.
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