Former NBA champion Marc Gasol retires from basketball

The big man from Barcelona has decided to hang up his shoes.

Former NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors and legendary Spanish basketball player Marc Gasol has officially retired from basketball at the age of 39.

According to NBA Insider Shams Charania, the Memphis Grizzlies, who traded for Gasol after the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him 48th overall in the 2007 draft, plan to retire his No. 33 jersey.

Gasol spent the first 11 years of his career with Memphis before being traded to the Raptors for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright and C.J. Miles in 2019, the team which he ultimately won an NBA Championship with later that season.

He finished out his NBA career back with the Lakers in Los Angeles, the same team that his brother and NBA legend Pau Gasol won two NBA championships.

The potential hall of fame inductee officially retires with 891 total games played in the NBA across 14 different seasons for three different franchises, notching three All-Star nods, two All-NBA selections, an All-Defensive Team nomination and a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2013.

The big man was known for his strong defensive prowess but was unafraid to score at a high clip, as he finished his career averaging 14 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 48.1 per cent shooting from the field and 36 per cent from behind the three-point line.

He was also a staple outside of the NBA, as he was a contributor to the men’s Spanish international basketball team. He helped bring his country two silver medals at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, as well as five FIBA Eurobasket medals and two World Cup Golds in 2006 and 2019.