Even though Shaquille O’Neal was way more dominant, Pau Gasol was actually a better teammate forKobe Bryant. Their characters meshed well together, and they won two NBA championships in three trips to the Finals.

Gasol was just what the Lakers needed at the time. And even though he failed to live up to the task when it mattered the most, Kobe made sure to toughen him up and bring the best out of him later in their careers.

That ended with Pau having his no .16 jersey hanging high in the rafters of Crypto.com arena side by side with Kobe’s. Nonetheless, the Black Mamba knew that fans didn’t always appreciate him enough.

Kobe Bryant Felt LakersFans Didn’t Truly Appreciate Pau Gasol

“I thought that it was really silly and I felt bad for him going through all that stuff,” Kobe told ESPN in 2016. “That’s why I defended him so much… I think the city of L.A. didn’t really appreciate what he did and what we had, and so as a consequence, everybody kind of fell in line with the [former Lakers coach] Mike D’Antoni rhetoric of small ball and all these other bulls***. For a guy that has two championships to be treated that way, you don’t do that, man.”

Gasol Opens Up On Criticism

Pau was no stranger to criticism and trade rumors. He was often labeled as a ‘soft’ player, especially early in his Lakers tenure. Still, he used it as his fuel to get better and prove everybody wrong:

“Obviously I won’t say it was pleasant, I remember that was kind of the narrative European players had at the time. Great, skilled players, fundamentally sound, great IQ and stuff but just not physical enough and soft,”Gasol said.

“It was discussed a lot more when we got beat by the Celtics in 08,” the big man added. “They were a more physical team than we were and I got highlighted on that loss. But at the same it’s like okay I’m going to use this as motivation. I’m going to take this as a personal challenge and I’m going to make sure that I’m ready because I knew that I got physically outmatched that series.”

Pau Gasol wound up being one of the best international players in NBA history, and he proved to be no pushover at all. Hopefully, Lakers fans learned to appreciate him and cherish him now, especially after their team has gone through so many ups and downs since he left.