Pau Gasol's trade to the Los Angeles Lakers is causing quite a sensation in the center's homeland.
"Gasol conquers Hollywood," Barcelona daily La Vanguardia wrote in Thursday's edition. And El Mundo Deportivo devoted five pages to Gasol's performance on Tuesday in a 122-93 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
On Wednesday, Gasol scored 29 points in a 130-124 win over Phoenix -- overshadowing Shaquille O'Neal's debut for the Suns.
"It is absolute happiness. I am happy, very happy and very comfortable, very much enjoying it, with a lot of hope and confidence that everything is going to work out," Gasol said in a recent interview with Spanish sports daily Marca. "I'm happy. I love being a Laker."
Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was just as enthusiastic.
"Getting Pau was an incredible acquisition for us. He perfectly embodies our style of play and this franchise," Abdul-Jabbar told Marca.
"He's a threat wherever he is on the court. We needed somebody like him who could rebound, score, defend and provide smart passes. He's the perfect complement to Kobe [Bryant]."
Gasol is one of Spain's biggest sports figures, with every move and achievement noted with pride by the Spanish press.
Three-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso are the only other athletes who share such a cult-like status among the national press.
El Corte Ingles, Spain's biggest department store, was awaiting a batch of Gasol's No. 16 yellow-and-purple Lakers jersey, but some eager fans have already been buying the shirt on the internet.
Even Gasol's teammates from the Spanish national team were in awe of the 2.13m center's easy transition to the Lakers.
"Pau played as if it was nothing. The weight of importance of the night [of his home debut against Atlanta] didn't affect him, neither did the tension," Toronto Raptors forward Jorge Garbajosa said.
With the Lakers sharing the Pacific division lead with the Suns, Abdul-Jabbar said the rest of the NBA is just getting a taste of what awaits the new-look Lakers.
"When [Andrew] Bynum recuperates, the Pau-Bynum pair is going to be really difficult to defend," Abdul-Jabbar said. "We now have the class of team we need, with good equilibrium in all aspects and Pau will help us fight for a ring."
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