Is Pau Gasol Having The Best Year Of His Career?

The Chicago Bulls were supposed to be the team that went into the Eastern Conference and blew the doors off of everyone.

No one was supposed to be able to match their star power, defensive prowess and incredible depth. Then the season began and the Bulls proved they weren’t ready to be elite just yet. With Derrick Rose coming back from not playing for nearly two years and a lot of new pieces in place, Chicago looked like they needed some time to gel.

Well, the Bulls certainly have gotten on track, now sitting with a 20-9 record looking to pile on even more wins. Jimmy Butler has emerged as a star, Nikola Mirotic may be the Rookie of the Year when all is said and done, and Rose is beginning to look like the old Rose once again.

However, none of these players have been more impressive this year than Pau Gasol has.

Disrespected by the Los Angeles Lakers throughout the years between trade talks and a poor extension offer, Gasol looked elsewhere to play and ultimately compete for a title. The New York Knicks and Phil Jackson came knocking early, offering a chance to play with Carmelo Anthony in the big city, and the Miami Heat wanted to sign Gasol to appease LeBron James to stay and compete for a third ring in five years.

While they were both nice offers, neither team could offer the complete package that Chicago could. A shot at a quality salary and a true chance at another championship were two things that no other team other than potentially the Oklahoma City Thunder could offer. Gasol chose the Bulls, and they made a wise decision to give him the money that they did because Gasol has turned back the clock a few years to say the least.

This season, Gasol is averaging 18 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting to go along with 11.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.0 blocks per game. Not a lot of players can average those numbers, let alone the fact that Gasol is 34 years old in the midst of his 13th season in the NBA.

Offensively, Gasol has been much more consistent connecting on his deeper attempts, hitting 46.9 percent of his shots from 16 feet and beyond. Being blessed with great size is one thing, but being able to take advantage of that size while being able to knock down perimeter shots is something else, making him a truly unique weapon in Chicago’s offensive arsenal.

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That’s not to say Gasol has completely lived on the perimeter either. 69.8 percent of Gasol’s shots have still come within 10 feet of the basket, meaning he has still been a menace posting up his defender and making them pay with a variety of up-and-under and hook shots. Gasol has always been an underrated back-to-the-basket scorer because he is sometimes seen as a finesse big man not really packing the physicality to bang down low with a lot of the bigger post players in the league. Gasol is proving this season that even at his age, he still has plenty of fight left in him to compete and scrap.

Gasol has also made a huge difference in the Bulls’ offense because of his court vision and passing ability. Between him and center Joakim Noah, both big men have been able to be heavily involved in the movement of the basketball, making the lives of the team’s three-point shooters a lot easier because they are getting quality looks. Gasol has even helped Noah because of his passing down low. Gasol is a willing passer capable of getting his teammates the ball, even when they are underneath the basket.

Even though Gasol is still chugging along on offense, a place where his impact has been felt for the majority of his career, defense has been where he has improved the most.

Most players in their older age do not necessarily make nice-size leaps on a particular end of the floor, but Gasol has been such a force on defense that it is hard to ignore any longer. Head coach Tom Thibodeau loves long and skilled players that can be an active part of his defensive schemes, and Gasol has fit right in playing next to Noah.

Noah has allowed Gasol to expand his game on defense because of his own defensive ability. Gasol has never played with a big man willing to play hardcore defense like Noah before, so most of the time he has had to stay conservative on defense and be sort of the last line on defense just in case a player was able to get past the other layers of the defense.

In Chicago, Gasol does not have to worry about being the last resort. Rather, he can take more chances in terms of picking up his man and either contesting and blocking a shot he normally wouldn’t be allowed to go after or even provide a good foul every once in a while without having to worry about the fact that he had to be on the court every minute of the game.

The Bulls have great frontcourt depth, and with an anchor like Noah ready to wreak havoc on the defensive end of the floor, Gasol is free to sort of find himself on that side of the ball and really experiment. Yes, he has played with other talented big men in the past, but never anyone as imposing as Noah.

Noah has also been great at taking control of his man and boxing out on defense, leaving Gasol many opportunities to clear the glass and get the defensive rebound. This has been a huge reason why Gasol is averaging the most rebounds per game in his career because his average of nine defensive boards per game blows away his previous season high of 7.6 defensive rebounds per game.

Has Gasol had more help this year on both ends of the floor this year than in previous seasons? Yes, that’s fair to say. But what isn’t fair to say is that it means that Gasol’s improvements and statistical jumps cannot be taken seriously. Gasol has played on championship teams before, but this is the year where he has finally put all of it together and taken a huge step forward in being a true two-way star for his team.

Pau Gasol is having the best year of his career, and should even be considered an MVP candidate when all is said and done.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference and ESPN.