We truly wish everyone would have a friendship like Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant did. Despite relatively less media attention, the two shared an almost inseparable bond and even today, 3 years after Bryant’s untimely demise, Gasol still chokes up talking about his teammate and dear friend.
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Pau was a friend unlike any other. He was there for the Bryants in a way that only a sibling would. Greater than that even, perhaps. Gasol was a true friend of Bryant.
And since the demise of his friend, he has been working tirelessly to champion women’s basketball. Pau was a doting uncle to Gianna Bryant and in her memory, he has been doing a lot for the WNBA.
As he talks about his work for women’s basketball, Pau Gasol chokes up while wishing Kobe Bryant was here
Just watch this video, where Gasol talks about his love for Bryant and why it kept pushing him. He shared about how he wished Kobe was here to witness this and that’s when he choked up.
Congratulations to @paugasol on being the recipient of the 2023 Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award.
Pau got choked up when he joined @TermineRadio and @SamMitchelINBA discussing his @Hoophall journey to the Lakers and Kobe. #NBAAllStar @NBAalumni pic.twitter.com/qzgmTmCFUy
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) February 20, 2023
Gasol says that his emotions for his teammate often overwhelm him. In the clip, he also talks about how the Lakers found their groove with him and their epic 3-year run to the NBA finals, in which they won 2 of them.
WNBA and Vanessa Bryant salute Pau Gasol’s work for the WNBA
In lieu of his work, the WNBA said Pau did,“significant contributions to the advancement of girls’ and women’s basketball,”.
Kobe’s wife, Vanessa had this to say, “We are grateful to the WNBA and Pau for continuing to honor Kobe and Gianna in this way,”.
We are sure Bryant is smiling at Gasol. A man that will hopefully ignite more interest in women’s basketball.
