Pau Gasol: ‘Beauty’ of the NBA is Gone

Spanish NBA veteran Pau Gasol will eventually have to let the NBA go, one way or the other.

The 39 year old, currently on the Portland Trail Blazers roster, is in the twilight of his career. As well as that, the style of play in the NBA is moving away from him.

There is no doubt that Pau Gasol will be remembered as one of the league’s greatest ever big men. However, as a big man who doesn’t shoot, he might not do as well if he were at the beginning of his career today.

It’s something Pau Gasol discussed in a recent interview with Spanish publication Marca. Gasol feels that the ‘beauty’ of basketball is being lost in the NBA.

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“It has changed a lot. For me, the big change is the game itself. There are very fast shots, very short possessions, few passes in each attack. There are many hasty shots,” he said.

“When I was younger, some of the shots that are attempted today would have seen the coach send you to the bench as a punishment. Now it is encouraged to shoot in the first eight seconds of possession. It has lost the beauty of the game, the purity it had, the fact of moving the ball from one side to the other, the ball inside-outside, which was to play with two in the post. Now there are times when there are teams that play with five small guys. [Mario] Hezonja played the other day as centre with us.”

It’s common for older or ex players to lament that the game isn’t played the way they were taught, in any sport. However Gasol touches on something that all elite sports are experiencing – the desire for faster, more explosive play. 

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“I don’t know. It’s different. I want to keep fighting, I think you can win by playing with two tall players. I wish I could contribute to this theory, really, in the time I have left as a player. The fact is that the NBA likes this dynamism, this speed. This is how society and the world in general are evolving. Everything is like that, everything is more dynamic, faster.”