Pau Gasol is back in Spain to play for Barcelona, with the team announcing that his contract runs until June 30.
The great 40-year-old started his professional basketball career at Barcelona in 1998-99, spending three seasons in the ACB League with the club and playing with the team in the inaugural Euroleague season (2000-01), before making the leap to the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2001-02 season. He was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in his first season with Memphis.
“I’m happy to be back at the club where I started and I’m excited about this new opportunity: I hope to be able to contribute to the first team very soon. I want to thank Barça and their technical team for making it possible for them to join, “Gasol said in a statement.
Very happy to come home. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Go Barcelona! 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/6CewIY2Bil– Pau Gasol (@paugasol) February 23, 2021
Barcelona coach Sarunas Jasikevicius was Gasol’s teammate during the 2000-01 season, when Barcelona won the Copa del Rey de Baloncesto and Liga ACB titles. Gasol was the MVP for both finals.
On Saturday, Gasol denied reports from Spanish media that he had reached an agreement with Barcelona, writing on Twitter that he remained “focused on my recovery and I’m not ready to compete again yet. ”
Gasol has been trying to regain his fitness to be ready to play his fifth Olympic Games. He said last year that he needed to play this season to get a chance to get to Tokyo. He is an Olympic medalist three times with Spain.
Gasol, a six-time NBA All-Star, won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers after being traded to the Los Angeles Memphis in 2008. He also played for the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks and has career averages of 17.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.
He last played in the NBA in 2018-19, ending the season with Milwaukee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.