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Dwyane Wade on 2010 Finals: 'Everybody thought Pau Gasol should have been the MVP. That’s how well Pau was playing, and Kobe was playing awful'
On the latest episode of his podcast, Wade was explaining what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs to learn from Kobe Bryant when he recalled his last run in the NBA Finals. While he was trying to teach Gilgeous-Alexander a lesson, he inadvertently discredited the Lakers legend. “A lot of people don’t know that, in that Finals, the last Finals that they won, Kobe didn’t play well. Kobe didn’t shoot the ball well; actually, everybody thought Pau Gasol should have been the MVP. That’s how well Pau was playing, and Kobe was playing awful."
Pau Gasol on NBA heading to Europe: It's an opportunity to improve European basketball model
Speaking at the launch of the 21st Pau Gasol Academy in Barcelona, former NBA and EuroLeague star Pau Gasol addressed two of the most pressing topics in international basketball—NBA expansion into Europe and the growing trend of young European talents leaving for U.S. college basketball. On the potential arrival of the NBA in Europe, Gasol was cautiously optimistic: “There’s work being done; it’s in progress. I see an initiative to improve the European basketball model, and it’s an opportunity for our sport to grow. We’ll see how it shapes up and how it progresses,” Gasol said, per MARCA.
However, he emphasized the need for structural changes within Europe: “The European basketball model must evolve and improve. Economically, it’s not sustainable, and the vast majority of teams are losing money,” added Gasol, who sees himself in a “privileged position” to serve as a bridge between both worlds. When asked about the wave of young European players heading to NCAA programs, Gasol acknowledged the challenges local clubs face: “It’s one of FIBA’s priorities—regulating and protecting. If someone decides to leave, there should be some form of compensation for training rights. It’s a new situation that didn’t exist until now.”
Pau Gasol believes the younger generation of European NBA players has raised the level of the game, though he stops short of saying they’ve surpassed his era. “I guess in a certain way, the younger generation has raised the level. Surpassing an older generation is something trickier to say for me,” said Gasol when asked about the rise of stars like Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Even when I talk about older players than me, I don’t feel like I surpassed anybody. I just kept growing their legacy,” he explained. “What some of the great European players are doing today in the NBA is taking it up another step — in growing what we did, in expanding the level of play that we tried to bring.”
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The world’s best-known Catalan basketball player, Pau Gasol, received the Barcelona City Council’s Gold Medal for Sports Merit on Wednesday. Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni presented the medal and emphasized that “Pau Gasol is the best ambassador of basketball in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and Europe.”
Kendrick Perkins: But then—I don’t mind being criticized or critiqued; everybody’s entitled to their own opinion—but then Kenyon was like: “Well, yep. Perk would be a liability.” Hold on. Hold on one second, brother. Liability? Let me give you some facts—okay? Back him up. Let me give you some facts when it comes to throwing out that word: liability. The Oklahoma City Thunder never went to the NBA Finals until Kendrick Perkins arrived on that team—because they couldn’t get past the Lakers, who had the Twin Towers: Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. That’s number one. They were a problem.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) held the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2025 induction ceremony in Bahrain on Saturday night. Pau Gasol, already inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023, stole the show with a touching speech, talking about his whole career, including his triumphs with the Spanish national team, and also his relationship with Kobe Bryant. As Gasol said, talking about his NBA teammates: “None was more important than my brother, Kobe. Our connection went far beyond that. He was unique. He challenged me to leave it all on the court every day to make us NBA champions. I’ll never forget how he welcomed me onto the team. We built something special. It wasn’t easy. Trust, accountability, unwavering commitment, and pure determination. I miss him and Gigi terribly”.
In an exceptional evening, FIBA honoured several iconic figures who have left an indelible mark on the sport’s history. Among the inductees were: Pau Gasol (Spain) – Two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and Spain’s all-time leading scorer in EuroBasket. Mike Krzyzewski (USA) – Legendary coach known as “Coach K,” who led Team USA to three Olympic gold medals and Duke University to five NCAA titles.] Ticha Penicheiro (Portugal) – WNBA’s all-time assists leader and one of the greatest playmakers in women’s basketball. Andrew Bogut (Australia) – NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors and three-time Olympian. Dawn Staley (USA) – Three-time Olympic gold medallist and flag-bearer for Team USA at Athens 2004. Alphonse Bilé (Côte d’Ivoire) – West African basketball icon and 1981 FIBA AfroBasket champion. Ratko Radovanović (formerly Yugoslavia) – Olympic gold medallist (Moscow 1980) and 1978 FIBA World Cup winner. Leonor Borrell (Cuba) – Four-time World Cup participant and 1986 tournament top scorer.
Who influenced your game growing up? Any favorite players or role models? I know your father and uncle both played professionally SA: Having family members that played, I got a lot of insight, which was good. But I didn’t really need to play. I never got to see them play. So players I actually got to see play—I would say Kobe [Bryant] and Pau [Gasol] were, you know, the first big duo I watched. Pau being Spanish and Kobe being one of the best ever. But then also Marc [Gasol]. A lot of national team basketball players and funny enough, Grizzlies players, too. And then Dirk Nowitzki. He’s just, I don’t know, a guy I’ve always liked—how he played, what he was about. So I think those three, four guys are probably my main references in basketball. Like I said, I don’t know, the game has always been part of my family and natural for me. So just anything—I think the greatest game of basketball is something I enjoy.
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Pau Gasol to become CEO of NBA Europe?
Pau Gasol, a Hall of Famer and European basketball legend, is strongly considered as the favorite to be proposed the position of CEO of the NBA Europe league, Eurohoops has exclusively learned. While the NBA Europe is still a plan being explored, the name of Pau Gasol is gaining traction in discussions as perhaps the ideal candidate to lead this new league from a top executive position.
“Pau Gasol is a person with very strong links to both NBA and European basketball while being one of the most respected and popular figures in the sport on a global level,” an NBA source told Eurohoops. “His accomplishments speak for themselves. He has already established himself as a leader and the prospect of him taking over as CEO of the new league has universal approval among NBA governors.”
Pau Gasol: Once I got to the NBA and landed in Memphis from Barcelona, it was a bit of a cultural change. The team had just moved from Vancouver, so everything was new—new team, new franchise, adjusting fans. Memphis was really a Tigers city; the Memphis Tigers had all the fandom. We had to build our own fan base. We were in full rebuild mode, playing our first couple of years in the Pyramid. I remember thinking, Okay, this is the NBA, right? It wasn’t quite how I pictured it. I even asked myself, Is this still my dream? But I reminded myself—I was playing with the best players in the world, and I wanted to succeed. A lot of people doubted whether I could come through and make it. I was determined. I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it for my family. I’m going to do it for myself. I’m going to do it for my country.
Pau Gasol: That moment—after we lost to the Mavs, right before training camp—was crazy. The trade that was supposed to happen but didn’t, it rattled us. Lamar was involved, and instead of going to New Orleans, he ended up in Dallas—the team that had just beaten us. That had to be tough for him mentally. And then I stayed, but things weren’t the same. Phil Jackson stepped away as head coach, Mike Brown came in, and the dynamics changed. We had to adjust. We did the best we could, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t good enough to get back to where we wanted to be."*
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