Kobe Bryant’s Message for Pau Gasol Leaves Lakers Fans in Tears

The Los Angeles Lakers gave the best tribute to Pau Gasol by hanging up his jersey right next to Kobe Bryant's on Tuesday night.

The special ceremony was done at halftime of the Lakers' 112-103 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies, where he also played in the early years of his NBA career.

Pau Gasol remarked that his Lakers jersey retirement ceremony "exceeds any dream," which brought him mixed emotions, per ESPN.

"And obviously with Kobe up there, it just adds something meaningful and powerful, and sad and happy, and painful and joyful," he said.

Gasol was originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks as the No. 3 overall choice in the 2001 NBA Draft from Spain. The Memphis Grizzlies negotiated a deal to acquire Gasol on draft night and then moved him to the Los Angeles Lakers halfway through the 2007-08 season.

Pau Gasol played for the Lakers for the next six seasons. He spent 18 years playing professionally and amassed more than 20,000 points and 11,000 rebounds while averaging 17 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, per Yahoo! Sports.

The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame has also recognized Gasol as a candidate for induction later this year.

But, most likely, the top highlight of his career was when he became the best teammate of basketball legend Kobe Bryant. They strived together, and they had three of their best seasons as a result. Two NBA championships were won after the team made three consecutive visits to the NBA Finals between 2008 and 2010.

Celebrating A Special Friendship

During the jersey retirement ceremony, Pau Gasol's jersey was progressively revealed in the stadium rafters beside a jersey belonging to Kobe Bryant, which left the Spanish basketball icon emotional.

Vanessa Bryant, who rightly began the program with a video introduction, called Pau Gasol a "special" athlete and person.

She then showed a video of her late husband eerily predicting Gasol's night. In the old clip, Kobe Bryant had nothing but praise for Pau Gasol.

"The Lakers don't have those two championships without Pau ... we know that everybody knows that. I do look forward to the day when he's there giving his speech at center court," Kobe Byrant remarked, per Los Angeles Times.

Indeed, their duo was something special that preserved a basketball dynasty. And the fans acknowledge that, with tears in their eyes.

Twitter user Superstar Supernova reacted to the Kobe Bryant video: "Even though I think it's been seen...the way I'm crying in this bed...I know I would've been in shambles in that arena."

Rose tweeted: "That would've been it for the night. I would've been A MESS".

While RKM said, "I would've ballin my eyes out if I was Pau yo omg. Crazy..."

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Kobe bryant, Pau gasol, Spain, Los Angeles, Los angeles lakers, NBA, Memphis grizzlies, Basketball