Back in the summer of 2001, I took a flight from New York to Tennessee for a baseball tournament. The night before, the Memphis Grizzlies walked away from Madison Square Garden, and the NBA draft, with a pair of highly-touted prospects.
As I boarded the plane to Memphis, those prospects just happened to be in line with me.
They were wholesome, Duke favorite Shane Battier, and a tall, lanky, mysterious Spaniard named Pau Gasol.
When my teammates and I asked Gasol about his NBA goals, he pointed at Battier and said, "I just want to be like him."
Now, almost nine years later, Battier can't even shine Gasol's shoes. Battier's a glorified role player while Gasol is a legitimate star.
But how much of a star is Gasol?
Where does he stand in the grand scheme of the NBA?
Is he the best, all-around big man in the world?
Casual NBA fans will immediately say "no," because the demonstrative Dwight Howard comes to mind. The best rebounder and shot blocker has to be the best big man in the game, right?
Nope. Not necessarily.
Howard's a better rebounder and shot blocker than Gas ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by John Frascella
Is Pau Gasol the Best Big Man in the NBA?
May 24th, 2010 by John Frascella Leave a reply »
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