Lakers News: Pau Gasol Details Late-Night Kobe Bryant Meeting After LA Trade

The Black Mamba, famously, was not a fan of sleep per se.

During an inspirational 20-minute Hall of Fame induction speech, retired six-time All-Star power forward/center Pau Gasol unpacked probably the reason he's in the Hall of Fame, down to the very date: February 1st, 2008 -- the night he was flipped from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The seven-footer unpacked the instant aftermath of that fateful moment.

And his story touched on a conversation with the most important teammate he'd have in his title-winning career: Hall of Fame shooting guard Kobe Bryant.

Teammates. Friends. Brothers.

Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. @Hoophall inductees.

📺: The #23HoopClass Enshrinement is live on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/lGWKjKwBYS

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"February 1st, 2008. [Memphis Grizzlies GM] Chris Wallace calls me to his office and gives me the news that I was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers," Gasol said -- and promptly found himself compelled to take an applause break. 

"That obviously changed my life and my career. I know some people in the league were upset about the trade. But it happened. And that's why I got to know the person who elevated my game like no other, who taught me what it took to win at the highest level, who showed me how hard you had to work and the mentality you needed to have in order to be the best, the commitment yo had to make, what it meant and what it took to be a leader... Kobe." Another applause break.

"That night I joined the team in D.C. and I got to the hotel after midnight," Gasol continued. "He was texting me saying, 'Hey I want to come by your room and I want to welcome you, I want to say hello, I want to welcome you to the team.' I said, 'Wait a minute, it's going to be late, it's going to be past 1 a.m., are you sure you don't want to wait for tomorrow?' He said, 'No, no, it's not going to be so late. I'm coming over.'"

"The team had a game [against the Washington Wizards the] next day at noon," Gasol continued. So he just wanted to make sure that right away, first hand, I got the message. He said, 'Welcome to the team, I'm happy you're here, now let's go win a championship together.' So I said, 'All right I'm in, man, I'm in. Have a good night.' That was it. No crap. Straight to the chase. I wouldn't be here without you brother."

Gasol did not dress for that contest, which the Lakers won without him anyway, 103-91. In his debut for Los Angeles, a 105-90 victory over the New Jersey Nets on February 5th, he scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, pulled down 12 boards, dished out four dimes, and swiped one steal.

The full speech, viewable right here, is worth checking out in full.

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