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Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

By Josh Cornelissen

Kobe Bryant (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers. Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images /

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 64 – Pau Gasol

Career: 2001 – 2019

Achievements: Two-time champion; All-NBA (4x); All-Star (6x); 23rd in career blocks

Kobe Bryant won three titles as the Robin to Shaq’s Batman, but after the pair broke up in 2005 he struggled to find a replacement. Bryant as “the guy” won an MVP and dropped 81 points in a single game, but he needed a wingman to get back into title contention.

That player turned out to be Pau Gasol, who made an All-Star team in Memphis before the Lakers traded for him to supplement their star power. He and Bryant clicked right away, and together they went to three straight NBA Finals and won two titles, the second against a stacked Boston Celtics team.

Gasol’s offensive versatility allowed him to toggle between power forward and center, freeing the Lakers up to start him alongside Andrew Bynum or to have him man the middle to get more spacing on the court. Later in his career, Gasol joined the Bulls and Spurs to extend his career, and he just recently retired from basketball to end a solid career.