Gasol returns to town
Former Grizzlies star now trying to win an NBA title with Lebron’s Lakers.
It’s been almost two years since Marc Gasol stepped on the court at Fedexforum. Fans gave him a standing ovation in his final moment with the Grizzlies on Feb. 5, 2019.
Sunday (5 p.m., Fox Sports Southeast) will mark Gasol’s first game at Memphis since his final performance for the Grizzlies. He returns as an NBA champion and with the Los Angeles Lakers but also the emotions from his 11-year Grizzlies’ tenure.
“It’s not just another game just because of the building we’re in and how special it is to me,” Gasol told the Commercial Appeal on Saturday. “Obviously once the jump ball starts, all those emotions go away but up until that moment, it’s going to be special.”
He was traded during the 2018-19 season to the Toronto Raptors. After the Raptors won the NBA championship that summer, he thanked his former teammates making him a better man and player.
Sunday’s game could send him further down memory lane. The Grizzlies will debut their black throwback uniforms on Sunday from 2001-04 when Gasol watched his older brother Pau lead the team’s first Memphis era.
“I remember them. I had one of the replicas,” Gasol said of the jerseys.
He faced the Grizzlies inside the NBA bubble with the Raptors last summer but this week means more even if the homecoming feels different
The Grizzlies are planning a video tribute during Sunday’s game but he’ll have to wait for that ovation since fans are not allowed at the arena.
Although the Grizzlies also host the Lakers Tuesday, Gasol won’t get to visit as many people as he’d like due to NBA protocols limiting travel due to COVID-19. But just as he was all business with the Grizzlies, he understands the greater picture.
“It’s hard with all the protocols. You know, you try to be very responsible for your actions,” said Gasol, who attended Lausanne Collegiate School. “Obviously, there’s a lot of people in Memphis that I want to see, that I miss dearly, but the other side is you have a task at hand at that moment that you cannot put at risk.”
Gasol’s game-winning shot against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the first round of the 2017 playoffs remains the Grizzlies’ most recent playoff win. But there were greater highs alongside Zach Randolph, Tony Allen and Mike Conley.
There’s the run to the 2013 Western Conference Finals and Gasol being named Defensive Player of the Year. There was the 2011 team upsetting the No. 1-seed Spurs in the Grizzlies’ first playoff appearance in five years.
With Lakers assistant and former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins on the sidelines, he’ll be reminded even more how the Grit and Grind era became etched in Memphis lore.
“It’s special to me because Lionel was a huge part of who we were in Memphis and who started it all and put it all together the first couple of years,” Gasol said.
He still remains a fan of the Grizzlies and he’s able to watch them more often being in Los Angeles. He praised their unselfish play under coach Taylor Jenkins and how they have a chance to be successful once Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Justise
Winslow get healthy.
He also praised Dillon Brooks, one of his remaining Grizzlies teammates, for being more aggressive as a defender and emerging as a leader.
“He cares so much about the team. Sometimes guys would scratch their head because he will take some bad shots but he's thinking like he's trying to help the team,” Gasol said. “I love his confidence.”
Gasol said he has embraced his role with the Lakers as another facilitator and defender. He's appreciated earning the trust of superstar Lebron James, Anthony Davis and his new team as they look to repeat as champions.
But this week, it's about coming home. Nearly 20 years after being a teenager watching the Grizzlies play at The Pyramid, his basketball journey brings him back to where it started
“From going from a fan in the stands to defending that jersey for over 10 years. Now going back and still supporting the team? That's the (full) circle I see,” Gasol said.