About Pau Gasol Pau Gasol i Sàez (pronounced POW gah-SOHL; IPA [ˈpaʊ̯ gəˈzɔɫ]) (born July 6, 1980 in Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain) is a 2.13 m (7 ft.) Spanish professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born to Marisa Sàez and Agustí Gasol, and he spent his childhood growing up in Spain.Gasol's brother, Marc Gasol, is also a professional basketball player. Gasol was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001 NBA Draft, but his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He currently holds the Memphis Grizzlies franchise records for career games played, minutes played, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, offensive, defensive, and total rebounds, blocked shots, turnovers, and points. After seven seasons with the team, Gasol was traded to the Lakers on February 1, 2008, and a USA Today newspaper article said he was "the major factor in turning around a storied NBA franchise and making it hip to be a Lakers fan again."