Pau Gasol Reportedly Expected to Announce Retirement as a Player on Tuesday

Two-time NBA champion and international star Pau Gasol is reportedly expected to announce his retirement from basketball.

Gasol has called for a press conference Tuesday from his home country of Spain. The 41-year-old has been playing professionally since he was 18 when he debuted for the FC Barcelona senior team in 1999.

Gasol was selected third overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001 NBA draft, but his rights were traded to the Grizzlies. Gasol made an immediate impact in Memphis, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2002.

The 7-footer was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers midway through the 2007-08 season. When he left the Grizzlies, he held 12 franchise records, including points, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, blocked shots and games played.

Playing alongside the legendary Kobe Bryant, Gasol helped lead the Lakers to back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010. The rest of his NBA career included stints with the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks. The six-time All-Star was named to the All-NBA second team twice and All-NBA third team twice.

Gasol was a mainstay on the Spain national team. He helped lead the team to two Olympic silver medals in 2008 and 2012 and a bronze medal in 2016. He collected 11 medals in FIBA international competitions, including gold in the 2006 World Cup.

Gasol played for Spain in the Tokyo Olympics, averaging 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds as Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Team USA. Prior to the Olympics, he returned to FC Barcelona and the team finished in second place in EuroLeague during his farewell season.