Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history

Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history: 30. Pau Gasol goes off

Kobe Bryant desperately wanted help. He was officially done with playing guys such as Smush Parker, Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown, etc. He wanted to compete for titles and that’s exactly what he did once the Lakers got their hands on Pau Gasol.

After putting up 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds on 58.9 percent from the field during the regular season, the Lakers were back in title contention. And while he didn’t have a ton of experience at the time in the playoffs, Gasol proved he was ready to prove his worth.

Against a Denver Nuggets team that was stacked with guys such as Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby and J.R. Smith, the Lakers swept them right out of the playoffs. Playing a huge part in that was Gasol as his Game 1 performance set the tone. He dropped 36 points on just a shade under 75% shooting. He also grabbed 16 boards and dished out 8 assists. Gasol did it all that night and while the Lakers didn’t bring home the title that year, Gasol was a huge reason why they eventually won back-to-back titles.