By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
As the leaders of the Spanish and the French national team for many years they were arch-rivals, but now they have a common goal, winning the NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs, which will be the third for Gasol and the fifth for TP.
With both of them admitting that the NBA was not a goal but a dream for their generation of European players – Parker said “for me it was much bigger than a dream” and Gasol added “in my craziest dreams I wanted to be a player of Barcelona” – they explain how much things have changed.
Asked if they feel like the fathers of the current generation of European NBA players, Parker explained: “A little bit, no doubt. Others pushed the door before us, but Pau, Dirk (Nowitzki), Andrey (Kirilenko) and I, we really opened it. After us, many wanted to be the new Gasol, the new European talent in the NBA. Now it’s crazy to see the number of European players drafted!”.
And Pau Gasol added: “We definitely convinced the NBA staff to trust international players, not just Europeans… But we feel that our success and longevity have paved the way for European youth in the NBA”. Here’s the rest of a unique interview.