There is no denying that Spanish players excel in the field of basketball.
There are many basketball players in Spain, however, there are only a few that are known worldwide. These famous Spanish basketball players are so called famous because they are the Spanish basketball players that have played in the National Basketball Association in the United States of America.
The Gasol Brothers
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol was born on July 6, 1980 in Barcelona, Spain. He isa professional basketball player of the NBA playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Pau started playing basketball in his school, Alvirne, and eventually signed with Cornella. At the age of 16, he joined the Barcelona’s junior team where he won the 1998 Albert Schweitzer Tournament and the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.
He then entered the Barcelona’s senior team. In 2001, the senior’s team won the Spanish National Cup championship game and Pau was named the Most Valuable Player award. In the same year, he entered the NBA Drafts and was picked by the Atlanta Hawks third overall in the first round. However, the Hawks immediately traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
With the Memphis Grizzlies, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award, and he holds the Memphis Grizzlies franchise records for career games played, minutes played, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, offensive, deffensive, and total rebounds, blocked shots, turnovers, and points. After seven seasons with the team, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 1, 2008.
He has been very usefull for the Los Angeles Lakers and he helped the team win the NBA finals, together with Kobe Bryant and all the other members of the team. Pau is considered as the most famous Spanish basketball player in the NBA.
Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol was born in January 29, 1985 in Barcelona, Spain, and he is the younger brother of Pau Gasol. He is a professional basketball player in the NBA playing for Memphis Grizzlies, which was the former team of his older brother. The Gasol family moved into Memphis when Pau was signed by the Memphis. Marc played high school basketball at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis.
Marc was signed by the Los Angeles Lakers 48th overall in the second round of the NBA Drafts in 2007. On February 1, 2008 Marc Gasol was traded by the Lakers to the Grizzlies as a part of a trade package that included his older brother, who eventually went to the Lakers.
Marc broke the franchise record of his brother Pau, which was the rookie record of the highest field goal percentage at the end of the season. Marc is still playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, however after the 2010-2011 season, he will be an unrestricted free agent. Just like Pau, Marc was also considered as one of the famous Spanish basketball players in the NBA.
More Famous Spanish Basketball Players
Jose Manuel Calderon Borrallo is also one of the famous Spanish basketball players. He is a professional basketball player in the NBA who plays for the Toronto Raptors and at the same time, the Spanish National Team. Another Spanish player is Ricky Rubio, which was picked 5th pick in the draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Last on the list is Juan Carlos Navarro, who also played in the NBA, however he only played one season with the Memphis Grizzlies.
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