21. Pau Gasol
With summer dragging on and on and on before the NBA tips off, we’ve decided to initiate a multipart series that will be the definitive look at the best players in the NBA today. Over the next month or so we’ll run down the 50 guys that we think are the 50 best players, right here, right now. Today, TrippleX’s greatest hits take a look at Pau Gasol…
With summer dragging on and on and on before the NBA tips off, we’ve decided to initiate a multipart series that will be the definitive look at the best players in the NBA today.
Over lunch at the Outback Steakhouse (word to Steve Irwin), your crack SLAMonline.com staff sat down and ranked the 50 best players in the NBA today. We realize that’s kind of ambiguous, but that’s how basketball is and that’s how we like it. Basically, though, we tried to list the 50 guys we think have the most value to their teams, right now, at this moment. This doesn’t mean they’ll never be traded, and it doesn’t mean they’re due tremendous contract extensions, but it does mean — since value is king in the NBA — that over the next month or so we’ll run down the 50 guys that we think are the 50 best players, right here, right now.
Before long it’ll be time for our annual NBA team previews. Right now it’s time for some law and order…
21. Pau Gasol
Finding someone to write about the Grizzlies isn’t easy. Just ask Truehoop. On top of that, Pau Gasol has had a strange career. He was rookie of the year from out of nowhere, he puts up great numbers, but he’s never won a playoff game. He was the best player in the FIBA World Championships, but his country won the final game without him. He used to get made fun of for being a metrosexual, so he went the oher way and now he’s got a hipster/homeless beard. We tried to reach out to the world’s #1 Pau Gasol fan, everyone’s favorite commenter TrippleX, but it turns out that the email address he’s been logging in with is a fake! Imagine that. Either that or there’s some kind of technical problem. So, we’re forced to use some of his greatest hits as a commenter for the Pau write-up. TrippleX, why don’t you elaborate further in the comments.
TrippleX’s greatest hits:
Pau was the MVP of the WBC!
I must admit, its awfully hard to put gasol over wade and lebron. but like i said, these guys are all WINNERS and LEADERS!
There is nothing wrong with me or my top 5. I’m just stating my top 5. Hate it or love it. Is there anything wrong with someone stating their personal beliefs? Jeez..
i forgot all about wade and lebron. i gues they are better than gasol and ak47.
Heres my top 5: Nash, AK47, Gasol, Dirk and Kobe. BTW this is not biased. All of the above mentioned players are WINNERS not ballhogs like lebron and wade.
Forget my top 5. First Team All-NBA:
Pg- J. Calderon
Sg- J. Carlos Navarro
Sf- J. Garbajosa
Pf- P. Gasol
C- M. Gasol
Pau was the MVP of the WBC! So like I said before, hate it or love. I honestly couldnt give a damn. Thanks to all the Tripple X (Vin Diesel) supporters. Haha.
Tripple, we’re waiting for you to add on…
68 Responses to “21. Pau Gasol”
Oct.18 at 2:01 pm
Gord says:
First post! can’t wait to see TrippleX go about this lol…no! he should have been at 3!
Oct.18 at 2:02 pm
so fresh n so clean says:
This guy has MAD pull on the site..I think it’s Ryan Jones…
Oct.18 at 2:06 pm
Darksaber says:
i. can’t. fathom. this. Here i am thinking the trippler is some random poster, and he get’s to rank NBA players on slamonline? Okay, apart from the fact that dude is superconsistent with his “top 5 white players” rant on EVERY post, how did HE get that privilege, hmm? So where do i sign up so i can write my own favourite player in?
Oct.18 at 2:09 pm
albie1kenobi says:
so he could have had a writeup for the esteemed SLAMonline Top 50 just by posting his Top 5 everyday in any column possible. persistency and hard work is to key to anything! thank you Slam for teaching us this important lesson.
Oct.18 at 2:11 pm
Darksaber says:
For my money’s worth, i think Gasol is above average, looks like a bum (at least i could laugh out loud when he was a metro, now?) and is a whiner on the court. Should be a great to see him getting double technicals for his crying this season. Happy he’s not top 20, those spots are for the elite. Oh and trippler? Gasol didn’t lead spain to the gold medal, Garbajosa, Navarro (plays for Barcelona) and Calderon did, with a little help from the awesome bench. so chill with the “leadership”, mmhkay?
Oct.18 at 2:16 pm
Ryan W. says:
I guess, but until Slam makes it to the top 5 Ron Artest is going to overshadow all these guys.
Oct.18 at 2:27 pm
serbia23 says:
nice nice nice, pau is da shit man, just look at his name pau lol
Oct.18 at 2:30 pm
Darksaber says:
You people at slam have just shared your beds with the devil. TrippleX, when he sees this shrine in his name, shall NEVER let us hear the end of this. Muchos gracias, friends.
Oct.18 at 2:31 pm
Myung says:
My Top 5: Ha Seung Jin. Michelle Wie. Park Chan Ho. Daniel Dae Kim. Kim Yun Jin.
Oct.18 at 2:35 pm
Darksaber says:
Ohhhhh yesss, Kim Yun Jinnnnn. Any day of the week. Now that’s hot (oh lord, did i just do a hilton? i shall now attach a fishhook to my eyelid)
Oct.18 at 2:41 pm
Myung says:
Good job, TrippleX. Your persistence paid off.
I’ve discoverd that if you write a lengthy comment, you get roasted. If you write the same short comment each day, you get honored. I obviously didn’t read the instructions to this SLAMonline machine when I opened it.
Oct.18 at 2:42 pm
t dot c.arlos says:
wow I want to do the writeup for Gilbert Droppin Grapes Arenas…haha its funny how triple X contradicts himself about excluding wade and lebron and then reverts back to his old top 5 again….by the way how is wade not a winner?
Oct.18 at 2:43 pm
Marcel Mutoni says:
strange that tripple has yet to chime in. maybe his head exploded when he saw his name in the lights…
Oct.18 at 2:43 pm
TrippleX says:
My Top 4: Nash, Dirk, Gasol, AK47 and Kobe
Oct.18 at 2:43 pm
Darksaber says:
Umm, people? can we start burning grizzly pau now? TrippleX will be along shortly to rub it our faces, no need to give him all that attention Myung, or the honour of copying his style
Oct.18 at 2:47 pm
chrissss says:
# TrippleX Says:
October 18th, 2006 at 2:43 pm My Top 4: Nash, Dirk, Gasol, AK47 and Kobe
Oct.18 at 2:51 pm
t dot c.arlos says:
hahahahaha thats amazing
Oct.18 at 2:51 pm
Darksaber says:
Tadaa! The man of the hour ladies and gents. How’s that for an entré Mr. Mutoni?
Oct.18 at 2:58 pm
Myung says:
OK, well since this is a Gasol post, I’ll write something not related to TrippleX (but I’m sort of repeating something I wrote about a month ago). I’m not shouting conspiracy or anything (because I know the injury is legit), but this reminds me of the 1996 season when David Robinson got injured. The Spurs got the #1 pick the following Spring and drafted Tim Duncan in June and the rest was/is history. Any chance the Logo keeps Gasol out a little longer than necessary to lock up the needed # of ping pong balls to get Oden? If that transpires, I wouldn’t be shocked. One more thought on Gasol: has there ever been a GM who traded away a player to another franchise and then subsequently became the GM of that franchise, later finding himself having to dump the player he already dumped once before? I’m speaking about Billy Knight, who acquired Gasol for the Grizz by trading away Shareef, only to swap Shareef out a couple years later after he became the Hawks GM. We now return to our regularly scheduled “TrippleX’s coming out party” post.
Oct.18 at 2:59 pm
Darksaber says:
You know, i do really believe in his foot breaking. Those darn air max 360’s he was wearing in the finals of the wcob are just not right. Not enough response, too cushiony.
Oct.18 at 2:59 pm
TrippleX says:
WTF?! Pau at 21?
Oct.18 at 3:08 pm
Darksaber says:
TrippleX being quoted on his favorite player on slamonline - lovely
Trippler responding with his usual list - astounding.
Trippler suddenly realising Pau Grizz is at no. 21 and getting PISSED - priceless
Oct.18 at 3:18 pm
Dj says:
imagine how angry he’ll be if AK47 is left off the list entirely.
Oct.18 at 3:26 pm
JG says:
I’m a huge Gasol fan and everything, but jesus christ he’s not more important, better than Marion or JO Slam, here’s my top five: Ryan Bowen, Brandon Hunter, Chris Mihm, Troy Hudson, and Tyronne Lue…can I do a write up in the top 50, too?
Oct.18 at 3:53 pm
t dot j. says:
boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, have not seen any raptors on this list yet WTF!!!!!!!! tdot………………….
Oct.18 at 3:57 pm
Dj says:
bosh is definately getting on this list…but other than that…..
Oct.18 at 3:59 pm
Ron says:
Man is this the end of the world? How does the most annoying person get the glory for someone he ranks as a top 5 player coming in at 21? This seems like a ploy to get him to stop posting his top 5 every friggin day. Slamonline if you thought this was going to shut him up, you thought wrong. Nipple X is a jerk whom some found to be humorous, while others simply hated his constant fabrication of a top 5 list. I used to be appalled by the order of the ranks, now I’m totally shocked and disgusted that Tripple X actually got a shout out to do a write up on a player who is actually ranked at an acceptable position. Honestly, I might have put Pau in my top 15.
Oct.18 at 4:01 pm
Gord says:
Are u forgetting Mr. Bargnani t dot? It’s a good thing Bosh hasn’t been listed yet…just shows how high he’s gonna be (Gordon forgets to knock wood, causes Bosh to come in at 20)
Oct.18 at 4:01 pm
kingstuffs says:
i dont hink gasol is beter then neof the
guys that hav been listed yet
yall messed up on this 1
Oct.18 at 4:02 pm
Ron says:
My apologies, using my spell check, I changed Tripple to Nipple. It was totally my mistake, or was it a freudian slip?????
Oct.18 at 4:11 pm
chrissss says:
you guys need sense of humor.
Oct.18 at 4:12 pm
chrissss says:
oh and gasol is one of the most confusing players in the league, i dont know if hes too high or too low.
Oct.18 at 4:24 pm
albie1kenobi says:
i like how Slam’s being like Jamie Foxx and making everything unpredictable. first of all there’s the selection (especially the 40s), then it’s the double shot of Steve Smith and Mr Human Highlight Film himself writing writeups, then we have this amazing plot twist featuring Vin Diesel. I’m expecting even more unpredictables from now on, Slamonline staff.
btw, i think there’re only around 5 posts where people actually talked about Gasol. maybe no one’s actually seen him play so no one’s talking about his game? good times for grizz. i wonder if steve francis woulda played for them if they were relocated to memphis already when he was drafted.
Oct.18 at 4:43 pm
New era says:
Pau Gasol is a chump. He has good stats but is he better then J.O, the Matrix, and Jason Kidd hell no.I think that guy tripple x has pull at slam. Kobe #1
Oct.18 at 4:43 pm
Payne-o says:
I’m gonna follow TrippleX’s trend…
My Top 5: Michael Olowokandi, Steve Nash, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, & John Amaechi.
Unlike TrippleX however, I cant be accused of being racist according to skin colour, so what is the theme of this list??……
English links…. London, represent!
Oct.18 at 4:55 pm
TrippleX says:
Im not here to annoy bloggers but I started “My Top 5″ to see what kind of reaction I would recieved from die hard basketball fans. I decided to list the top European/Canadian (Kobe growing up in Italy) players in the NBA and see what reactions I would get after the American debacle in the WBC. However, I didnt anticipate that it would come to this and I appreciate all the discussions and information that I have gained from this experience. P.S.
I chose TrippleX as a screen name after Slam posted a “post a caption” of Michael Jordan along with two guys seemingly humping his behind and it has nothing to do with Vin Diesel.
Oct.18 at 4:58 pm
Myk says:
Anybody who calls Kobe a winner and labels LBJ and Wade ‘ballhogs’ in the same sentence must be on some serious shit.
Oct.18 at 4:59 pm
Chris O'Leary says:
I’ve always disliked Pau Gasol for two reasons. One, he sang Maxwell’s Fortunate on Inside Stuff when he was a rook. Terribly. Two, he runs funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg4omoQvHzU&mode=related&search= Two minutes in the proof presents itself.
Oct.18 at 5:00 pm
Boing Dynasty says:
Ya Ya, whatever Vin Diesel
Oct.18 at 5:02 pm
scott says:
Wow. Tripple X comments make a strong case for Gasol. Hopefully he will get the opportunity to do the write up for the rest of his top five. However, seeing how this is the nba and not the olympics or world championships how can you say Gasol is a winner? Yes Memphis gets to the playoffs and yes the Grizz kept swept every year. This is about the right spot for Gasol but he shouldn’t be ahead of Manu Ginoboli, Shawn Marion, or Amare Stoudemire. Memphis would trade Gasol in a second for Ginobili, Marion, or Stoudemire.
Oct.18 at 5:05 pm
Noah Doucette says:
kudos to XXX
Oct.18 at 5:05 pm
scott says:
Slam should have got Serbia23 for the Milicic column.
Oct.18 at 5:09 pm
Payne-o says:
Acknowledged, TrippleX, but posting the same list as a ‘comment’ on absolutely every topic that is raised by SlamOnline’s authors is quite clearly the manifestation of a deep-rooted personality disorder. Are you currently in receipt of psychiatric treatment and/or psychological therapy?
Oct.18 at 5:19 pm
Yugo says:
Can we all just admit that we are jealous of TrippleX
Oct.18 at 5:23 pm
Joe Millionaire says:
i betcha yugo is tripplex under a different screen name
Oct.18 at 5:23 pm
Dj says:
Kobe aint american. He’s white european. ya’ll just hate on the euros. Yeah, whatever. Notice no one had any beef with Dirk Diggler on xxx’s lists; it might be because he’s won something in his career. You could consider T-Duncan “international” by the same standard and list him in that group too. makes no sense at all.
Oct.18 at 5:29 pm
Dj says:
The reason we hated on the list had nothing to do with the “european-ness” of the players, regardless of what pornoboy wants us to believe. For most people, the inclusion of Kobe immediately meant that this wasnt a Euro-centric list. I have to say, for a race-baiting attempt it was pretty low too. I dont know if you were trying to prove that americans now hate on european players more after the WBC or what, it makes no sense to me. AK and Gasol just were not top 5 players. end of the story. You couldve put down rafer alston and Jamal Crawford in your top 5 along with AI and then continutally post it for 5 days, get people annoyed, and then talk about the inherent bias against street ballas from the ‘hood. Whatever.
When we say gasol went 0-12 in the playoffs, that has nothin to do with where the hell he’s from. KG has been bounced from the first round what, 8 times? Succes is measured in wins.
Oct.18 at 5:50 pm
TrippleX says:
Lastly, I’m retiring “TrippleX” and “My Top 5″ as of Today. I had a great run along with the recognition I have recieved at Slamonline Top 50. I didnt expect that a simple persistent posting of Top 5 players could gain so much exposure and discussion. For the last and final time, I give you My Top 5: Nash, Dirk, Gasol, AK47, and Kobe.
Oct.18 at 5:51 pm
Dj says:
My Top 5: The Professor, Air Up There, Escalade, Hot Sauce, and Skip to my Lou. wordddd
Oct.18 at 5:53 pm
Dj says:
THese guys are LEADERS, i think the and1 tour hasnt lost in like 5 episodes on their global tour! represent!
Oct.18 at 5:59 pm
Jason says:
Screw the top 5. Here is my top 6: KG, KB24, LBJ, Dirk, Yao, Gil
Oct.18 at 6:00 pm
Dallas J. says:
ohhh.. so TrippleX posting his top5 in every topic wasn’t him being annoying, it was a SOCIAL EXPERIMENT. lame.
Oct.18 at 6:31 pm
fashiz says:
“My Top 5: Nash, Dirk, Gasol, AK47, and Kobe.” …. You said that LJ and wade are ballhogs, but Kobe’s in the top 5? Kobe’s a huge ballhog. He’s THE ballhog. the guy’s good, but where has he gotten in the past few years? Where has Shaq gotten?
Oct.18 at 6:49 pm
Drolfe says:
Man what a messed up world. Tripple X goes from arguably the most annoying person on this website, with talk of his posts being blocked, to this. Talk of the town. Souly responsible for an entry in the top 50. What a strange turn of events.
Oct.18 at 6:55 pm
Teddy-the-Bear says:
Where would shaq be without D Wade? Where would Shaq be without Kobe on the Lakers? Pau at 21 seems right to me. A.I. should be number one. We’ll wait and see (-_O)!
Oct.18 at 7:16 pm
ForeHead says:
Is this article really about Gasol? or is it really about TrippleX being a dumbass?? well Slam thinks your a dumbass and so do the rest of us!!
Oct.18 at 7:38 pm
TrippleX says:
My top 4: AK47, Nash, Dirk and Kobe… i couldnt resist.
Oct.18 at 7:39 pm
TrippleX says:
shoot. slam was right. i just noticed that the email was wrong. o well i guess i just have to make a column for AK47…
Oct.18 at 7:55 pm
Clay says:
Yep, I concur… TrippleX, you’re a dumbass! Pau has done some pretty nasty dunks on unsuspecting big men in the L. I think the one over KG stands out in my mind the most.
Oct.18 at 8:06 pm
Justin H says:
Once again I hate European Basketball.
Oct.18 at 8:11 pm
Clay says:
Slam, why don’t you just give TrippleX a job as writer? He can replace Lang… (I feel that he’s been slacking off lately). The guy clearly has some insightful things to say about state of “world” basketball. I think he’s ready to take the world of basketball media by storm!
Oct.18 at 8:21 pm
ForeHead says:
ahhah LOL TrippleX a job as writer.. no need to you already know wat he thinks..
top 4: AK47, Nash, Dirk and Kobe and he would put LBJ at 50 and wade at 49
Oct.18 at 9:17 pm
DP says:
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! pau is ranked pretty high. but i guess he deserve it. watch out fo kyle lowry though, he gone do his thang dis year
Oct.18 at 9:42 pm
Clay says:
Forehead, I don’t think we’ve seen the best of TrippleX yet! I’m sure he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his unmeasurable potential as a basketball journalist… If he REALLY tapped into that inner TrippleX spirit, I think Sam might be out of a job.
Oct.18 at 10:01 pm
ForeHead says:
ahhah Ok i dont care wat any one says but NBA top 50, number 1 should go to TrippleX!!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!!!
Oct.19 at 4:53 am
cantgetneerme says:
i would just like to say goodbye to tripple x if he is really going if ya ever come back, no more top 5 please not only is it annoying but wrong pau gasol is the only player memphis has ever kept for more than 3 seasons so he can’t be too bad then again look how many playoff games the Grizz has one and you think how they ever will when the Grizz front office trade 12 players a year
Oct.19 at 9:19 am
Mighty says:
too bad atlanta traded him…=p
Oct.19 at 12:38 pm
t dot j. says:
whoops, my b forgot ’bout bargnani, i was not on point on that one, respect for callin me out on that gord. tdot…………………