Is Marc Gasol retired? Former NBA star leads Girona back to Spain’s top league
Memphis Grizzlies legend and former NBA champ Marc Gasol left the NBA after last season, but has made headlines by taking Basquet Girona to the 1st division.
NBA champion and Spanish basketball legend Marc Gasol led Basquet Girona to a the LEB Oro title on Sunday night with a win over Estudiantes. Gasol and Girona earned promotion to the first division of Spanish basketball with the 66-60 win.
Girona in first division after just seven years
The 2019 NBA champion not only starts at center for the second division champs, but he is also the founder of the club. The club was founded in 2014 as a basketball academy for young kids in the city of Girona, but in 2017 the Gasol and the club’s board of directors created a senior squad that would debut in Spain’s fourth division. In no time Basquet Girona shot up the country’s basketball ladder and found themselves in second division at the start of this season.
At the end of the last NBA season Gasol parted ways with the Los Angeles Lakers and signed with the club he founded just seven years earlier. While his presence on the team certainly made them candidates for the title, Estudiantes were the heavy favorites at the start of the campaign.
Gasol: founder, center, MVP
After a fourth place regular season finish Girona was able to make it past the quarters and the semifinal meet the favorites in the title game. Gasol and company had an 11 point lead going into the final quarter but scored just 8 points in the last 10 minutes of the game. The defense tightened up in the last few minutes of the game and Gasol’s 11 points and 8 rebounds were enough earn him MVP and to seal the win to earn promotion.
His contract runs out at the end of this season, and it remain to be seen if he will be back on the hardwood for his club’s maiden voyage in Spain’s top league. If he decides to play another year, I’m sure he won’t have too much trouble convincing management.