Lakers News: How Pau Gasol Maintains Posthumous Familial Bond With Kobe Bryant

The two LA greats will also forever be linked by their on-court achievements.

Your Los Angeles Lakers honored title-winning future Hall of Fame big man Pau Gasol yesterday evening, retiring his No. 16 jersey during a special halftime ceremony during a game in which LA faces off against the other franchise most consistently associate with Peak Pau, the Memphis Grizzlies.

Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes that the two-time LA champ has maintained a close connection to the widow of his late Hall of Fame Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, Vanessa, and their three living daughters.

Powell notes that Gasol visits with the Bryant family on birthdays and holidays, vacations together, and intends to take the family to the opera, one of his most beloved past times, when he's old enough. 

“His family’s my family,” Gasol noted. “We’ll be there all the way, through the good and bad times, loving each other and being there for each other. With all my heart, you know?...I go forward, knowing he’s watching.”

Gasol's two-year-old daughter, Elisabt Gianna Gasol, is of course named in tribute to Bryant's late daughter Gianna, who perished with him in that tragic helicopter accident in January 2020.

Fittingly, when it did reach the rafters of Crypto.com Arena last night, Gasol's No. 16 jersey was placed between both Kobe Bryant jerseys, No. 8 and No. 24. Given how essential the dynamic duo was to each other during their two title runs, it's pretty darn fitting.

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