Pau GASOL

He improved his points per game to 19.0 in his second season, again playing all 82 games. He almost played the whole of season three but was ruled out of the 77th game that campaign.

On the upside, he did lead the Grizzlies - who started out in Vancouver - to the playoffs for the first time where they were swept in four games by the San Antonio Spurs.

Then came his Olympic debut at Athens 2004 where Gasol stood out with team-high averages of 22.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. They fell in the quarter-finals to USA despite the big man's haul of 29 points which helped him become the tournament's top scorer.

In 2006, Gasol earned his first All-Star Game selection before leading Spain to the final of the World Cup in Japan.

He racked up 21.3 points and 9.4 rebounds in eight games, but missed the final due to a foot fracture. Without him, Spain strangled Greece 70-47 to claim their first world title with Gasol collecting the tournament MVP award.

After that injury ruled him out of the start of the 2006-07 season, Gasol made up for lost time with a personal best 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game averages.

But they finished that season with a dismal 22-60 and repeated that the following year although Gasol - who led 12 of the franchise's all-time lists including most points, rebounds, games and minutes - had already moved on by then.

At the start of February 2008, Gasol was traded to the LA Lakers with younger brother Marc moving in the opposite direction having been drafted by the Lakers.

Gasol Sr quickly connected with Kobe Bryant on and off the court, and an awesome 19 rebounds in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against San Antonio Spurs clinched the series to make him the first Spaniard to reach the NBA Finals.

The Boston Celtics were too good in the end, but the Lakers were just getting started with Gasol and Bryant then claiming back-to-back NBA titles.

Between that defeat at the hands of the Celtics and their first championship triumph together, Gasol and Bryant were very much in opposition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Spain went into the tournament as the reigning world champions while USA's stars were dubbed the 'Redeem Team' having only won bronze at Athens 2004 with their last global success coming at Sydney 2000.

USA rolled past Spain in group play after Bryant took out his Lakers teammate inside the first two minutes to set the tone. But the response was immediate with Gasol later describing that defeat as a "wake-up call". He scored 31 points in a crushing win over Angola and had a double-double (20 points and 10 rebounds) as Croatia were brushed aside in the quarter-finals.

Gasol top-scored with 19 points in the semi-final against Lithuania although it was Rudy Fernandez who engineered the fourth-quarter comeback which saw Spain take victory and secure their first men's Olympic basketball medal since Los Angeles 1984.

Between them and gold stood Bryant and the United States. In what has been described as one of the greatest games in history, Spain brought the best out of their star-studded opponents and trailed by just two in the final period before eventually going down by 11.

After his two titles with the Lakers, and the departure of head coach Phil Jackson, Gasol's form dipped before injuries started to affect him. He was able to raise his game at London 2012 where he enjoyed the honour of carrying the Spanish flag in the Opening Ceremony.

He led Spain in points, rebounds and assists (jointly with Rudy Fernandez) in the British capital, but they fell to Team USA in another enthralling final which only swung towards the favourites in the final quarter.

Gasol enjoyed something of a revival after joining the Chicago Bulls in 2014, securing two consecutive All-Star selections. He also won the MVP award at Eurobasket 2015 where he claimed a third triumph with Spain. But after just missing out on the playoffs in 2016, he moved to the San Antonio Spurs.

Before his latest adventure, Gasol had Rio 2016 where, after two surprise opening defeats to Croatia and hosts Brazil, Spain surged into the semi-finals.

Once more, Team USA had too much but Gasol turned it on in the bronze-medal match where his 31 points and 11 rebounds helped Spain edge out Australia 89-88.

Injuries and age really started to take their toll after that and a short-term deal at the Milwaukee Bucks saw him play just three games as an ankle injury ruled him out of the 2019 postseason.

After Tokyo 2020 was postponed by a year, Gasol returned to Barcelona to prepare for his fifth and final Games and helped the team claim another Liga ACB title.

He was able to provide savvy and experience from the bench, but not even his presence was enough to see Spain past the quarter-finals where, guess who, the United States proved too strong.

Gasol announced his retirement in October 2021 with his legacy on the court secure. He has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2003 and taken part in several campaigns to aid children in Africa. He and brother Marc established the Gasol Foundation whose goal is to promote health and tackle childhood obesity.