NBA 2020-21: Legend Pau Gasol announces that he is signing with FC Barcelona. He said he is returning to FC Barcelona, for who he played from 1998-2001.
Basketball life has come full circle for former NBA All-Star and Rookie of the Year Pau Gasol, who announced Tuesday he is signing with his former team in Spain.
Gasol tweeted that he will be “coming home” to FC Barcelona and is looking forward to playing with the club he started his basketball career with.
“I’m very happy to announce that I’m coming home and that I’ll soon join the ranks of Barca’s basketball team,” Gasol wrote in his tweet. “I’m happy to return to the club where I began, and I’m excited about this new opportunity; I hope to contribute to the team very soon.”
Very happy to come back home.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Força Barça! 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/6CewIY2Bil— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) February 23, 2021
Over the weekend, Gasol had denied reports from Spanish media that he was heading back to play for Barcelona.
Marc Gasol’s debut
Gasol debuted for Barcelona in the 1998-99 season, was part of two Liga ACB — the top Spanish league — championships in three years, then was the No. 3 pick in the 2001 NBA draft. He was the rookie of the year for Memphis in 2002, won three Olympic medals with Spain, and was part of the team that won the FIBA world championship, now called the Basketball World Cup, in 2006.
Gasol won two NBA titles while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, where he stayed from 2008-14. He also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 40-year-old who was born in Barcelona last appeared in the NBA on March 10, 2019, for Milwaukee.