Βy John Rammas / irammas@eurohoops.net
Yes, his brother is on top of our Top20 list and he is third, but Don Pau is one of a kind. Some players don’t need introductions and a perfect example is Pau Gasol, especially in regards to Eurobasket Tournaments. Three gold medals (2009, 2011 & 2015), two silver (2003 & 2007) and one bronze (2001), two-time MVP (2009 & 2015) and three-time leading scorer of the tournament (2003,2009 & 2015) and he’s not even done!
Besides contending in Cluj-Napoca and most likely Istanbul, the 37-year-old (6/7/80) center of the San Antonio Spurs will have the chance to become the all-time leading scorer in Eurobasket final-phase history.
Since, 31/8/01 and a win over Slovenia (61-85) in Ankara, where he scored 12 points (5/9 2p., 0/4 3p., 2/2ft.) until 20/9/15 and the final against Lithuania (80-63) in Lille, where he had 25 points (8/17 2p ., 1/1 3p., 6/8ft.), he is only 61 points away from passing Tony Parker who is first on the list.
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EUROBASKET – POINTS |
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|
PLAYER (COUNTRY) |
POINTS (TOTAL) |
APPEARENCES |
POINTS (avg) |
|
Tony Parker (France) |
1.104 |
68 |
16,2 |
|
Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) |
1.052 |
49 |
21,4 |
|
Pau Gasol (Spain) |
1.044 |
50 |
20,5 |
|
Nikos Galis (Greece) |
1.030 |
33 |
31,2 |
|
Camil Brabenec |
948 |
62 |
15,3 |
Not bad for a player who aside from all he’s achieved during his illustrious career, in terms of club success (NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers 2009 & 2010) as well as national team success (gold medal in the 2006 World Cup, two-time silver medalist in 2008 & 2012 Olympics as well as a bronze in 2016) has been criticized for being soft, an argument he put an end to with his performances in the latest Eurobasket.
It was then, in 2015, when he “carried” his team to the title by averaging 25,5 points, 8,8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, 2,3 blocks and 1.2 turnovers while playing 30 minutes per game and winning the MVP for the second time, an achievement that only a few have accomplished.
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EUROBASKET – MVP |
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PLAYER (COUNTRY) |
TIMES |
YEAR |
|
Pau Gasol (Spain) |
2 |
2009, 2015 |
|
Krezmir Kozic (Yugoslavia) |
2 |
1971, 1975 |
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EUROBASKET – TOP SCORER |
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|
PLAYER (COUNTRY) |
TIMES |
YEAR |
|
Nikos Galis (Greece) |
4 |
1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 |
|
Pau Gasol (Spain) |
3 |
2003, 2009, 2015 |
|
Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) |
3 |
2001, 2005, 2007 |
|
Radivoj Korac (Yugoslavia) |
3 |
1959, 1961, 1963 |
|
Tony Parker (France) |
2 |
2011, 2013 |
|
Mieczyslaw Mlynarski (Poland) |
2 |
1979, 1981 |
|
Atanas Golomeev (Bulgaria) |
2 |
1973, 1975 |
|
Giorgos Kolokuthas (Greece) |
2 |
1967, 1969 |
The list of achievements is pretty impressive but it could have been even bigger if he wasn’t absent due to injury in 2015 (4th place) and 2013 (bronze-medal). That might be the case for many others but he knows that theories differ from actions. And in terms of actions, he is one of the best and he will look to repeat that in his final Eurobasket in order to solidify his myth because that is what legends do…
| PAU GASOL @ EUROBASKET | ||||||
|
PTS |
RBS |
ASS |
ST. |
BLKS. |
TO |
MINS. |
|
20,9 |
8,3 |
1,7 |
0,6 |
2 |
2 |
28′ |