Gasols to Become 1st Brothers to Start in All-Star Game Together

When Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol and Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol suit up for their respective conferences Sunday night, they will become the first set of brothers to start together in an NBA All-Star Game, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Pau, 34, is making his fifth All-Star Game appearance, while Marc, 30, is only appearing for the second time. Both brothers will be starters for the first time, after they finished second in the voting among frontcourt players in their respective conferences.

Pau benefited from weak competition in the East, while Marc got more votes than some true superstars, notably finishing ahead of Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Both Cousins and Aldridge made strong cases to earn the nod.

The younger Gasol doesn't quite offer the gaudy numbers that Cousins, Aldridge and his older brother bring to the table, but Marc is arguably the NBA's best defender at his position, with an efficient offensive game to match.

He is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game this season, after failing to crack 15 points per game through his first six years in the league.

Pau, meanwhile, is revived in the post-Lakers phase of his career, averaging a career-high 12.1 rebounds, along with his best scoring average (18.4) since 2010-11.

The Gasols will be the first brothers to play in the same All-Star Game since 1971, when Dick and Tom Van Arsdale made the second of two straight appearances together, per Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.