Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili - Best International NBA players of the 2000’s (Part-2)
Pau Gasol:
Gasol started his career in an excellent fashion with Memphis Grizzlies, winning the rookie of the year award. He played for seven seasons with Grizzlies and holds the franchise record for most career games played.
His fitness level has always been good and over the period of the last 10 years, he has been one of the most prolific post players in the league. In his first two seasons with Memphis, Pau featured in all the 82 games, averaging 17.6 and 19 points respectively.
Pau was traded to Los Angeles Lakers in 2008 and with his arrival began an era that saw the Lakers dominate the league for three consecutive years. With him on the roster, Lakers reached the NBA Finals in 2008, but lost out to a strong Boston Celtics side. However, in the very next year, Gasol and the Lakers returned to win it all and then went on repeat the feat in the 09-10 season.
In fact, a slump in Gasol’s form in the paint was one of the main reason, the Lakers were stopped short of yet another title march.
Through the course of his career, Gasol has earned 4 All-star appearances and 3 All-NBA first team inclusions. His career average till date is 18.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Gasol is the kind of player fans want to see because of his aggressive game. He can dominate the strongest of defences and he gave a proof of that in the recently concluded FIBA Eurobasket.
Manu Ginobili:
The 6 ft 6 in Argentinean was selected as the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft. However, it was only after the 2002 FIBA World Championships, that he joined his team, the San Antonio Spurs. Manu did not take much time to settle in the team and over a period has emerged as one of the top shooting guards in the game.
Known for his unique jump shot, Ginobili is as good a finisher as they come. He can pierce even the strongest of defences and make opponents look helpless with his strange yet breathtaking basketball moves. His overall average of 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists might not be that high but he has won his team few matches solely on his own.
San Antonio has won three championships with Manu in the team and along with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker; he has been the core of Spurs offense in the last decade.
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