LOS ANGELES — Before the sun came up Tuesday morning, Pau Gasol was already awake. His heart was racing too quickly to sleep.
The 42-year-old said his anticipation of walking back into his old arena was too overwhelming to fully absorb. Amid a packed schedule in the last few days of one of the biggest celebrations of his life, he had tried to build in downtime – “I’ve been trying to distract myself in a way” – if only to give his butterflies a break.
For a man who allows himself to feel like Gasol, whose heart was always fully on his sleeve for better or worse, seeing his jersey retired was always going to test his composure, was always going to make the memories pour out of his veins and leak onto his cheeks. He knew in the buildup to his big moment, when his No. 16 would be unveiled next to Kobe Bryant’s Nos. 8 and 24, that he could never be fully prepared.
“Tonight, it really exceeds any dream or expectation that I’ve had because it means so much,” he said. “And obviously with Kobe up there, it just adds something meaningful and powerful, and sad and happy, and painful and joyful. It’s a lot of things.”
That wide swath of emotion could be read in the few minutes Gasol spent at midcourt Tuesday night, as the Lakers honored the Spanish-born big man who helped restore the franchise to greatness. The acquisition of Gasol in a trade with Memphis on Feb. 1, 2008, was the turning point that ignited three straight runs to the Finals and championships in 2009 and 2010. In his 18-year career, the seven most memorable seasons came in L.A. – and Gasol knew he would not have been the same player without the Lakers, too.
He spent so much of a night focused on him trying to spread the spotlight around, fitting for a player so often regarded as a complementary piece in spite of six All-Star appearances and a trailblazing career for European and international players. At one point, Gasol pointed to his number and addressed his former teammates…
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