Spurs re-sign Pau Gasol

Spurs re-sign Pau Gasol

The Spurs have re-signed forward/center Pau Gasol.

According to ESPN, it’s a three-year deal worth $48 million, with a partial guarantee on the third season.

During the 2016-17 season, Gasol appeared in 64 games in his first year with the Silver and Black, averaging 12.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.09 blocks in 25.4 minutes while shooting .502 (303-604) from the field, a career-best .538 (56-104) from beyond the arc and .707 (130-184) from the foul line. On April 12 at Utah he scored his 20,000th career point to become just the second European player to eclipse 20,000 points for their career, joining Dirk Nowitzki.

A 16-year NBA veteran, Gasol is a four-time All-NBA selection who has won two NBA Championships. The six-time All-Star was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2010-11 and 2014-15 while earning All-NBA Third Team honors in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

In 1,119 career NBA games (1,081 starts), Gasol has averaged 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.65 blocks while shooting .510 (7,651-15,008) from the floor and .754 (4,569-6,062) from the free throw line in 34.7 minutes. He has appeared in 131 career playoffs games, averaging 15.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.77 blocks in 36.1 minutes.

The 2002 Rookie of the Year was originally drafted with the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Hawks before being dealt on draft night to the Grizzlies, where he spent his first six-plus seasons (2001-2008) and averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 476 games.

After being acquired in the middle of the 2007-08 season by the Lakers, Gasol spent the next six-plus seasons (2008-2014) with Los Angeles, where he won titles in 2009 and 2010. The NBA’s 2012 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award winner averaged 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 429 games with the Lakers. Gasol then signed with the Bulls in the summer of 2014 and spent the last two seasons in Chicago (2014-16), where he averaged 17.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 150 total games.

Gasol is one of four players in NBA history to reach 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and 1,500 blocks in his career, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

A native of Barcelona, Spain, Gasol has played for the Spanish Senior National Team since 2001, including appearances in the last four Summer Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016), helping Spain capture silver medals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics.

Author: Inside Hoops

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