Lakers Legend Pau Gasol Wins Advocacy Award In Kobe And Gigi Bryant’s Honor

The former Laker utilizes his platform to promote women's basketball at the highest level.

Longtime NBA power forward/center Pau Gasol, who won two titles as a core piece of your Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010, has been named the recipient of the 2023 Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award. This is the second year these awards have been implemented and it is an award that strives to highlight those who make meaningful contributions to girls' and women’s basketball.

.@paugasol has been named the 2023 recipient of the Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award 🧡

Full release featured here: https://t.co/t1a8sMtWR0 pic.twitter.com/PzP4LhzbXW

— WNBA (@WNBA) February 19, 2023

The WNBA's press release detailed the announcement and stated the essence of the award:

“The Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy award aims to honor advocates and influencers who use their time, talent, and platform to raise awareness for the WNBA, and women’s and girls’ basketball in various ways, like Kobe was so committed to doing. Kobe Bryant was a major contributor and mentor for the growth of the women’s game at every level, helping train middle school, high school, college, and WNBA players. The Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award highlights Kobe’s legacy as a coach and mentor and Gigi’s inspirational, relentless commitment to playing at the highest levels of the game.”

Last year, Chris Paul was the inaugural recipient of the WNBA advocacy award. This year Gasol, a long-time friend and former teammate of the late great Kobe Bryant, is being honored with the award. The six-time All-Star was presented with the award during Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game.

Vanessa Bryant shared her own statement about Gasol receiving the award:

“I’m so pleased that Pau has been chosen to receive this award. Pau has done so much to promote women and girls in sports and cares deeply about spreading a message of equality, which was so important to Kobe and Gianna. We are grateful to the WNBA and Pau for continuing to honor Kobe and Gianna in this way,”

As a WNBA investor, the Lakers legend has proven to be a leader within the basketball community as he consistently supports and advocates for women’s sports. He remains committed to women’s sports and was recently named a FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 ambassador. The two-time champion was also elected as an IOC member of the Athlete’s Commission.

On behalf of Gasol, the WNBA will also be donating to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation. The Bryant family created this nonprofit organization to give the youth equal opportunities through sports.

Gasol continues to carry on the legacy of Kobe and Gigi, who were two individuals that perfectly exemplified what it meant to represent women’s sports at all levels. 

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