Gasol thankful to see his jersey raised to the rafters at FedExForum
MEMPHIS – Marc Gasol will finally get his moment in Memphis.
The Grizzlies will retire Gasol’s #33 Saturday night, hanging it in the rafters of FedExForum right next to his good friend and fellow Core Four great Zach Randolph.
Gasol was back at the Forum Friday, shaking hands and reminiscing about his 11 seasons in the Beale Street Blue and trying to prepare himself to be back in the spotlight, one final time in front of his faithful fans.
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That’s something he wasn’t able to do when the team traded him to Toronto at the deadline back in 2019 or 2020 when COVID left the Forum virtually empty when Gasol returned as a member of the Lakers.
This time, it’s all about the man who is Barcelona-born but Memphis-made and the time to celebrate is now.
“I can’t really tell you what it’s going to feel like. It’s going to be a lot of emotions. Like the love that I got the last week from every interaction I had, either it was a grocery store or we just walk around downtown, it’s been overwhelming,” Gasol said. “So knowing that it’s going to be emotional for everybody else, it even adds to it.”
And sharing the moment with Grizzlies’ fans makes this, that much more special for Big Spain.
“I know I’m just going to be very thankful for the love and respect that I got through so many years,” he said. “Can’t wait, honestly, I can’t wait. The anticipation for this moment, it’s been over the years building up. So now to be in front of it, I can’t wait.”
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