Pau Gasol Sáez (pronounced POW guh-SAHL) (born July 6, 1980 in Barcelona, Catalonia, 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 Sáez and Agustí Gasol, and he spent his childhood growing up in Spain. Gasol also has two brothers; Marc Gasol, who like Pau, is a professional basketball player, and Adrià Gasol.
Gasol was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001 NBA Draft, but his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, with whom he played seven seasons. 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. On February 1, 2008, Gasol was traded to the Lakers, and a USA Today article said he was "the major factor in turning around a storied NBA franchise and making it hip to be a Lakers fan again."