Pau Gasol Saez was born on 6 July 1980, in Barcelona, Spain. He is a professional basketball player, best known from playing for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Chicago Bulls. He also previously played with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Pau Gasol? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $65 million, mostly earned through high valued contracts in the NBA – according to reports, he earns over $18.7 million in annual salary from playing basketball. He’s also received numerous awards and recognitions. As he continues his career his wealth is likely to increase.
Pau Gasol Net Worth $65 million
Pau started playing basketball with his school team, and at the age of 16 became part of the junior team of Barcelona. They won the 1998 FIBA Europe-Under-18 Championship and the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. He then moved to the senior team, becoming the Most Valuable Player during the Spanish National Cup championship in 2001. He joined the 2001 NBA Draft and was selected the third pick overall by the Atlanta Hawks, however his draft rights were already given to the Memphis Grizzlies.
He won the Rookie of the Year Award during his first year, averaging 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game; he also led the team in scoring, and played all 82 games during his rookie season. He continued making dominant and consistent performances but the team would fall short, losing in the first round of the playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs. By 2005, he had scored 5,000 points and 500 blocks in his career, helping his team make it to the playoffs before losing to the Phoenix Suns. In his fifth year, he became the top all-time rebounder of the franchise, and the team returned to the playoffs, losing in the first round against the Dallas Mavericks. Gasol then became part of the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, ranking as one of the league’s top ten in terms of rebounds, points, assists and blocked shots. He had an injury during the 2006 FIBA World Championship semi-finals but was still named Most Valuable Player. He continued breaking records as part of the Grizzlies, until he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.
During his first season with the Lakers he helped the team to the best record in the Western Conference, and he synergized well with Kobe Bryant. Gasol was finally able to make it out of the first round of the playoffs after the Lakers defeated the Nuggets and went on to win against the Utah Jazz. They would defeat the San Antonio Spurs to eventually face the Boston Celtics, losing in six games. He continued to be a part of the All-Star game during the next season, and helped the Lakers win a championship against the Orlando Magic. Pau was then given a 3-year contract extension worth $64.7 million, which boosted his net worth significantly. The Lakers would repeat their championship win, this time defeating the Boston Celtics. He was urged to become more assertive the following season and started to build-up higher statistics. However, he performed poorly during the post-season which led to a lot of criticism. Despite being part of the deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, Pau remained unfazed and soon became the team’s co-captain. However with the coaches changing, Gasol had difficulty adjusting to their offensive strategies and he was being bothered by injuries. He had career lows, and despite some good performances, he would become a free agent.
He signed with the Chicago Bulls in 2014, and made a career high nine blocks during a 2015 game, and another career-high of 46 points in a game the same season. He continued to make strong performances, having double-double and triple-double performances throughout these years.
Internationally, he was part of the Spanish teams which won the silver medal at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and winning the FIBA World Championship in 2006 among several other high achievements.
For his personal life, Pau continues in a long-term ralationship with Silvia Lopez Castro. It is known that Gasol played rugby before switching to basketball. He originally wanted to become a doctor after hearing how Magic Johnson contracted the HIV virus, and despite becoming a professional basketball player, is still very interested in medicine. He also speaks French and Italian.
