“Looking at me funny, speaking in Spanish” - Mike Conley hilariously reflects on playing with Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol became the second player in the Memphis Grizzlies franchise history, after Zach Randolph, to have his No. 33 jersey retired after a decorated run with the team. Reminiscing fondly about his time alongside the former big, Mike Conley Jr. shared a funny story about Gasol.
The now-Minnesota Timberwolves guard and the center were teammates during their time at Memphis and how the latter would tickle the funny bone often. One memorable instance was when he would talk to Conley in Spanish. The fans were in splits as he narrated the instance during the jersey retirement ceremony.
“Looking at me funny, speaking in Spanish”
The ceremony also saw Randolph and Tony Allen in attendance. This quartet, which also featured Conley and Gasol, experienced some of their best years at Memphis between 2010 and 17. Together, they led the Grizzlies to a 56-win season, reached a Western Conference, and were one of the most feared defensive teams in the league.
Marc Gasol was a force during his time with the Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol is a highly decorated franchise player and his career sees him as a 3x NBA All-Star and the DPOY honors. He is the all-time leader in the number of minutes played (25,917), games started (762), rebounds (5,952) and blocks (1,135). He also holds the record in made field goals (4,341), and free throws made (2,701). Furthermore, he ranks second in points (11,684) and assists (2,639).
Gasol ended his career with 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game in his 886-game career. Following his last NBA season in 2020-21, he remained active in basketball, playing for Bàsquet Girona, a team he founded in Spain.
Gasol was selected as the 48th overall pick by the LA Lakers in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in February 2008 for his older brother Pau Gasol — another iconic big and legend who formed a deadly combination with the late Kobe Bryant and won two championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
Remaining with the Grizzlies for most of his career, Gasol was traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2019. He briefly reunited with the Lakers in 2020 for a single season before being traded back to Memphis in 2021 for draft rights to Wang Zhelin. However, he was waived by his old franchise just five days later.
With his jersey now retired by the Grizzlies, Marc Gasol now joins his brother, whose jersey was also retired by the Lakers.