Pau Gasol - Point Center 15/16

Pau Gasol. 2x NBA Champion. 6x NBA All-Star. 2x All-NBA Second Team. 2x All-NBA Third Team. FIBA World Cup MVP. FIBA World Championship gold medalist. 2x Olympic silver medalist. 2x EuroBasket MVP. The list goes on and on. Pau has had a wildly successful NBA career, and somehow an even more extraordinary one outside of it. One of the biggest reasons he is able to have sustained success is his incredible ability to handle and proficiently pass the ball at the center position. At 35 years of age, he posted a near career high with 4.1 assists per game for the Chicago Bulls. Those digits mean that Pau led the league in assists at the center spot, and finished as the best front court facilitator behind only Draymond Green (7.4 apg), LeBron James (6.8 apg), and Kevin Durant (5.0 apg).

What will be a huge loss for Chicago will be a massive gain for the San Antonio Spurs. The ability for a big to make the right decisions either in the post, off of drags, in transition, and at the top of the key has always been a big part of their success there, and since the great Tim Duncan has gone the way of the Admiral, Pau can step right in and pick up some of the slack. His playmaking was particularly impressive when paired with Jimmy Butler (in fact, this was almost just a Pau Gasol to Butler video), and I’m sure he’ll be able to mesh perfectly with LaMarcus, Tony, Kawhi & Manu. The Spurs somehow got scary again despite Duncan’s retirement. I wish Pau all the success in the world. I know I cannot wait to see how he helps supplement the beautiful basketball they play in San Antonio.