Pau Gasol is one of the most important players in Los Angeles Lakers history and is one of the most popular recent players among the fanbase. Gasol officially retired from the NBA on Tuesday and it was quickly reported thereafter that the Lakers would be retiring his no. 16 jersey.
It is absolutely deserving as the Lakers do not win the 15th and 16th titles in franchise history if they do not trade for Pau Gasol. There are countless moments, memories and games from Gasol’s Lakers career.
There is no stage bigger than the NBA Playoffs and Gasol delivered time and time again and put together several great playoff games.
Pau Gasol’s five best playoff games with the Los Angeles Lakers:
5. Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals vs. Boston Celtics
In terms of Basketball-Reference’s Game Score, this is actually the third-best playoff game of Pau Gasol’s career. However, there are multiple factors that we are considering. First is the situation (NBA Finals, check) and the second is the final outcome.
The Lakers lost this game. So while it was a really good game from Pau Gasol and still cracks the top five, it is hard to put it ahead of the other games on this list because of the outcome. That is not to say that the loss is Gasol’s fault, it is just that a strong performance means more in a win than a loss.
Gasol was a two-way menace in this game, scoring 25 points with eight rebounds and an astounding six blocks. He was extremely efficient from the floor, making seven of his 10 attempts while making all five free-throw attempts.