Pau Gasol: “Defenses in the NBA have disappeared”

THE Pau Gasol he finds the modern NBA much more… loose on defense and individual on offense than he let on. The legend of world basketball, recently honored by the Lakers with his jersey retired, expresses his disagreements with the evolution of the league.

“Everything goes in circles. People like novelty, big scores, dynamic play and three-pointers are what are now being promoted and rewarded. Even NBA commentators who once played in the league say defenses are gone. Like they don’t matter anymore. It just counts who will score more. I don’t like that the essence of the game has been lost, which is to play as a team, move the ball around, create balance in the game near and far from the basket and have tactics. It used to be that when you shot in the first eight seconds or made a 3-pointer on the spur of the moment, you’d go to the bench to rethink it. This is how we grew up, now the game has become a bit chaotic“, emphasized Pau Gasol speaking to the Spanish Movistar.

“La defense ha desaparecido. No me acaba de gustar que se pierda la esencia del baloncesto… que es jugar en equipo”
“Antes tirabas en los 8 primeros segundos de possession y te sentaban en el banquillo. Ahora es un correcalles”.
Palabra de @paugasol.#Gasol16 #dormiresdecobardes pic.twitter.com/OA8qvW9vDX

— NBA en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarNBA) March 17, 2023