Pau Gasol Saez is a forward who plays basketball for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. A native of Barcelona, Spain, Gasol is a two-time All-Star and was named the league's Rookie of the Year in 2002. At the time he was drafted third overall in 2001, he was the highest-drafted European-born player in the league's history.

Gasol has made two appearances in the Olympics as the leader of the Spanish national team. In his two Olympic appearances he has averaged 20.9 points per game, and helped the squad to a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Pau Gasol was born on July 6, 1980, in Barcelona, Spain. His mother, Marisa, is a physician, and his father, Agusti, a hospital administrator. Both of Gasol's parents were athletes, and played second-division basketball in Spain. Pau Gasol also has two younger brothers, Adria and Marc. Pau speaks Catalan, Spanish and English, and is a native of Catalonia, which is the northeastern region on the coast of Spain. Initially, he planned to become a doctor; he actually attended a year of medical school at the University of Barcelona at age 18. Gasol began playing basketball at the age of seven, and primarily played at point guard until he was thirteen. Like many European-born basketball players, Gasol gained awareness of the NBA at the age of twelve, watching the "Dream Team" win a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Pau Gasol signed with a Barcelona junior team at the age of 14. He was moved up to Barcelona's senior team at the age of 16. That squad won the Spanish Junior Cup in 1998. Gasol was also a member of the 1998 junior national team, which won the European Junior Championship and the Albert Schweitzer Cup. In 2000, Pau Gasol began play in the top professional basketball league in Spain, the Asociacion de Clubs de Baloncesto. That year, he also made another appearance with the junior national team, which won the World Championship. As a 20-year-old playing for F.C. Barcelona during the '00-01 season, Pau Gasol averaged 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 23.8 minutes. He was named MVP of the league that season after Barcelona won the ACB title. Gasol was also named MVP of the Spanish National Cup (Copa del Rey).

Pau Gasol was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick of the 2001 NBA draft. At the time, he was the highest-drafted European player in NBA history. Soon after being drafted, Gasol was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies along with Lorenzen Wright and Brevin Knight in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the No. 27 pick, Jamaal Tinsley.

Pau Gasol appeared in every Grizzlies game during his rookie season, averaging 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He posted adouble-double in 72 of his 82 appearances. Gasol was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year, and also to the NBA's All-Rookie First Team.

Gasol began his second year in the league with five straight games scoring over 20 points. He increased his scoring to 19.0 points per game and recorded 32 double-doubles for the season. Over the next few seasons with the Grizzlies, Gasol became one of the team's most consistent players, never with a scoring average less than 17.6 points per game. In the 2005-'06 season, he led the Grizzlies in points, rebounds, and blocks. He was also named to the NBA All-Star Team for the first time, going 0-3 from the floor as a reserve. During the 2006-'07 season with Memphis, Gasol averaged a career high 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He became the Grizzlies' all-time leading scorer that year, passing Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Midway through the '07-08 season, Pau Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers along with a 2010 second-round pick. The Grizzlies recieved Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, a couple of draft picks, and the rights to Pau's brother, Marc. Pau Gasol posted an 18.9 scoring average in the '07-08 and '08-09 seasons. He was the Lakers' leading rebounder in '08-09, and helped the team reach the 2009 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic. Gasol became the first player from Spain to win an NBA title when the Lakers defeated the Magic in 5 games.

Pau Gasol played for Spain in the 2004 Athens Olympics, averaging 22.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Gasol was the leading scorer in the tournament, but Spain finished in seventh place.

During the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Gasol averaged 19.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, leading Spain all the way to the gold medal game against the heavily-favored United States team. The Spain men came out on the losing end of the gold-medal contest, 118-107, despite 21 points from Gasol. After the final whistle, Pau Gasol embraced his Laker teammate Kobe Bryant in a moment of respect.

Pau Gasol's brother, Marc, is a 7-1 center for the Memphis Grizzlies. Marc Gasol played high school basketball at Lausanne School in Memphis for two seasons during Pau's time with the Grizzlies. After high school, Marc joined Pau's former Spanish team, F.C. Barcelona. Pau and Marc Gasol were teammates on the Spanish national team during the 2006 World Championships and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

Pau Gasol acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Spain. With UNICEF, he has visited Africa on multiple occasions to act as an ambassador in the fight against HIV/AIDS.