Russell Westbrook Says Pau Gasol Was His Favorite Player Growing Up Even Before He Joined Kobe Bryant

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Pau Gasol has recently announced his retirement, and it's clear that the Spanish big man has had an amazing career. He will forever be part of history because of the two championships he won while playing as Kobe Bryant's co-star.

He will certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame at some point or another, and the Los Angeles Lakers have recently revealed that they will retire Pau Gasol's number 16 jersey. There's no doubt that many Los Angeles fans are excited about that, and the ceremony will certainly be a great time for everyone involved.

Many Lakers fans watched Kobe Bryant win championships with Pau Gasol, and some of them are even current players. Russell Westbrook was one of them. Recently, he revealed that Pau Gasol was his favorite player even before he joined forces with Kobe Bryant, and cited the big man "playing the right way" as a reason why.

Pau was actually my favorite player growing up. Before like Kobe. Cause I just liked how he played the game. He played the game the right way. He's a big man, I know... so I play like big...

He played the right way. He could pass it. He could shoot it. He could score it. To me, I just liked the way he played the game at his size... I wouldn't say modeled my game after, but like I liked the way he played the game and always played it the right way. So that's a little fun fact

There is no doubt that Pau Gasol was an extremely versatile big man, and one could only imagine how well he'd do in the modern era. He did pretty well for himself regardless though, and it's clear from Westbrook's comments that his style of play was very appealing to some.

Hopefully, Pau Gasol has a great time post-retirement, and he'll certainly be remembered fondly among the Lakers faithful. His legacy will live on in the rafters once the Lakers are faithful, and he is cemented as an absolute legend.