Marc Gasol

After graduating from Lausanne, Gasol returned to his home country of Spain to play in the Liga ACB for FC Barcelona. After three seasons with Barcelona, Gasol signed with Girona in 2006.[2] In 2008, he was named the ACB Most Valuable Player.

Gasol was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 48th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. On 1 February 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 was sent from the Grizzlies to the Lakers.[5][6] On 9 July 2008, he signed with the Grizzlies.[7] He set a franchise rookie record for field goal percentage in a season with 53 percent. The previous record was held by Pau with 51.8 percent in 2001–02.[8] He subsequently earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors.[9] After averaging 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds as a rookie, he averaged 14.6 points and 9.3 rebounds in 2009–10 with a career-best .581 field goal percentage.[10]

The 2010–11 season saw Gasol average 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, a career-high 2.5 assists and 1.68 blocks in 81 games (all starts). He then posted 15.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.15 blocks in helping lead the Grizzlies through a 13-game run in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.[11] Memphis, which had never even won a playoff game before 2011, defeated the Western Conference's top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the opening round, then went to a deciding seventh game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.[12] Gasol led the Grizzlies in field goal accuracy and blocked shots in each of his first three NBA seasons.[11]

On 14 December 2011, Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies to a four-year, $58 million contract.[11][12] On 23 January 2012, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played 16–22 January.[13] On 9 February 2012, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time, earning a place on the Western Conference roster as a reserve for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.[14]

Gasol playing with the Memphis Grizzlies in March 2013

In 2012–13, Gasol was one of only six players to average at least 1.5 blocks (1.7 bpg) and 1.0 steals (1.0 spg). He led a Grizzlies defense that allowed a league-low 88.7 points per game during the regular season. His +5.4 score differential ranked second among NBA centers; additionally, Memphis enjoyed a +7.5 score differential when Gasol was on the court compared with -3.9 when he was on the bench.[15] In April 2013, he was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in Grizzlies history to earn the honor.[15] ESPN lauded the Grizzlies' ability to force turnovers with Gasol on the court anchoring the defense.[16] He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team.[17] Despite winning Defensive Player of the Year, Gasol was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team due to a different voting system.[18]

Gasol in November 2013, backing down Blake Griffin

In 2013–14, Gasol played a career-low 59 games. A left MCL sprain suffered on 22 November against the San Antonio Spurs[19] sidelined him for 23 games from 25 November to 12 January.[20][21]

Gasol in November 2013

The 2014–15 season saw Gasol earn his second NBA All-Star selection, earning his first All-Star start, and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time.[22] He averaged a career-best 17.4 points to go with 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the 55-win Grizzlies. He scored 30-plus points five times after doing so just once in his first six seasons. He set career-highs in field goals made and attempted, as well as free throws made and attempted.[22] He was the only player in the league with at least 1,300 points, 600 rebounds, and 300 assists.[23]

On 13 July 2015, Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies on a five-year maximum contract worth an estimated $110 million.[23][24] On 20 November, he recorded his first career triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 96–84 win over the Houston Rockets, marking the first triple-double for Memphis since 2007 when his brother Pau recorded 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists.[25] Gasol set a new career low for games played with 52 after missing the second half of the season with a broken right foot.[26][27]

On 5 December 2016, Gasol recorded his second career triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 110–108 double-overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans.[28] On 12 December, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played 5–11 December. It marked his second career Player of the Week award and the ninth time a Grizzlies player has won the weekly accolade.[29] On 25 January 2017, he scored a career-high 42 points in a 101–99 win over the Toronto Raptors.[30] A day later, he was named an NBA All-Star for the third time in his career.[31][32] On 16 March 2017, he recorded his third career triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 103–91 win over the Atlanta Hawks.[33]

On 2 December 2017, Gasol passed 10,000 career points with 27 points in a 116–111 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[34] On 26 January 2018, Gasol recorded his fourth career triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 109–100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.[35] In February 2018, Gasol played his 700th career NBA game and made his 689th start, surpassing Mike Conley Jr. for the most games started in franchise history.[36]

In November 2018, Gasol passed Zach Randolph (5,612) to become the Grizzlies' all-time career rebound leader.[37] In December, Gasol made at least one 3-pointer in 13 consecutive games, which tied a career-high.[38][39] He set a new record in the first game of January, making a 3-pointer in his 14th straight game on 2 January against the Detroit Pistons.[40] The streak ended at 15 games.[41] On 23 January, he recorded his fifth career triple-double with 22 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 118–107 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.[42]

On 7 February 2019, Gasol was traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for C. J. Miles, Jonas Valančiūnas, Delon Wright and a 2020 second-round draft pick.[43] He made his debut for the Raptors two days later, recording seven points and six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench in a 104–99 win over the New York Knicks.[44] Gasol soon stepped into the starting center role in Toronto, and his pass-first offensive approach helped the Raptors become the NBA's top 3-point shooting team over the second half of the season.[45] He helped the Raptors reach the 2019 NBA Finals, where they defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games.[45] With his championship joining brother Pau's two championships in 2009 and 2010, they became the first set of brothers to win NBA titles.[46]

On 26 June 2019, Gasol opted in with the Toronto Raptors by exercising his $25.6 million player option for the 2019–20 season.[47] On 25 November 2019, despite only scoring 3 points, Gasol had his best game of the season with 6 rebounds and 9 assists while holding Joel Embiid scoreless for the first time in his career in a 101-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

• Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division 2 "Mr. Basketball" (2003)
• NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2009)
• 3× NBA All-Star (2012, 2015, 2017)
• NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award (2013)
• All-NBA Second Team (2013)
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2013)
• All-NBA First Team (2015)
• NBA champion (2019)

• Spanish ACB League Champion (2004)
• Spanish Supercup Winner (2004)
• FIBA EuroChallenge Champion (2007)
• Catalan Tournament Champion (2007)
• Spanish ACB League MVP (2008)
• All-Spanish ACB League Team (2008)

• Euroscar (2014)

• 2006 FIBA World Championship:  Gold
• EuroBasket 2007:  Silver
• 2008 Summer Olympics:
• EuroBasket 2009:  Gold
• EuroBasket 2011:  Gold
• 2012 Summer Olympics:
• EuroBasket 2013:  Bronze
• 2013 EuroBasket All-Tournament Team
• EuroBasket 2017:  Bronze
• 2019 FIBA World Championship:  Gold
• 2019 FIBA World Championship: All-Tournament Team