3x Olympic medalist Pau Gasol shares massive update as he announces family's third child
Pau Gasol has announced his family is expecting its third child in an adorable post. The three-time Spanish Olympic medalist, 44, took to Instagram on Monday to share the jovial news by posting a gallery of precious snaps with his two beloved children and wife Catherine McDonell.
Confirming the exciting baby news, Gasol penned the caption:
“New Rookie signing! Gasol starting 5, coming this fall 2024 season. 🧔🏻♂️👩🏼👧🏻👦🏼👶🏻”
The father-of-two already shares two kids – Elisabet Gianna, three, and Max, two – with his wife of six years.
Pau and Cat met back in 2015, during Gasol's first season with the Chicago Bulls, and announced their engagement the following year in 2016.
Kobe Bryant's daughter Natalia celebrated the Pau Gasol baby news
One of the many supporters of Pau Gasol's baby announcement was Natalia Bryant, daughter of the late NBA legend, Kobe.
In two comments on the post, Natalia shared her excitement with the Gasol family, commenting, "Congratulations!!!," and "YAYYY❤️❤️❤️," on Pau's Instagram post.
The Bryant-Gasol family friendship dates back to Kobe and Pau's run with the Los Angeles Lakers, where the duo was one of the best in the entire NBA for half a decade. They led the Lakers to back-to-back titles in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons and five-straight first-seed finishes in the Western Conference.
The ties between the two families remain strong after Kobe's passing. Gasol named Elisabet Gianna in honor of Kobe's daughter Gianna, who perished along with the Lakers great in a tragic helicopter accident in January 2020. Meanwhile, Kobe's widow Vanessa is Elisabet's godmother.
"When we told [Vanessa] about the middle name, Pau and I sat down together we told her over FaceTime because of COVID we couldn't be around each other as much. ... She was super happy, I think she actually started crying a little bit. I think she was honored," Pau Gasol's wife Cat said per People.
In Pau Gasol's time with the Lakers, the Hall of Famer averaged 17.7 points, 3.5 assists and 9.9 rebounds. He made three All-Star appearances and three All-NBA teams with two third-team selections and a second-team selection.