Getting an actual practice in at this stage of the season is a bit of a rarity. But with two days off between home games head coach JJ Redick was able to get a needed practice in for the Los Angeles Lakers as they look to take care of business in this final stretch of the regular season.
Of course with the Lakers, there is always a chance of one of the team’s many legends popping in and that was the case on Wednesday as Hall of Famer and one of the most beloved players in franchise history, Pau Gasol, popped in during practice, visiting with general manager Rob Pelinka, Luka Doncic and and LeBron James.
Pau Gasol is here visiting with Rob Pelinka after practice. pic.twitter.com/9coxCIMIcj
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) April 2, 2025
Always great to have @paugasol in the building 🫶 pic.twitter.com/aIpxXv0PMr
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 2, 2025
Gasol is not only one of the best players to ever wear the purple and gold, but he is also very familiar with the challenges this Lakers team is facing, having to adjust and build chemistry after a massive mid-season trade. It was Gasol who was dealt to the Lakers in 2008 and that team was able to go all the way to the NBA Finals that season, before winning NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010.
But just having legends like Gasol show up at a random practice is something most teams don’t have the luxury of experiencing and Redick had to note just how cool it is for that to happen with the Lakers.
“Happy Pau is here. I did not know he was gonna be here, that’s very exciting stuff. Lost to him in the ’09 Finals. He’s also gotten into golf, so I’m probably just gonna go see where he’s playing these days in L.A. and see if I can form a four-some with him,” Redick joked. “But look, when you took this job, you’re immediately struck by the magnitude of what this franchise is. I come in here every day and I see the championship banners, I see the retired jerseys. All of the guys, and not just the retired jerseys, all of the guys that have contributed to the success of this franchise, you get to be a part of that now for the rest of history. It’s a huge honor and Pau… he was great. He was great… Pau is one of my favorites. Just as a professional and as a basketball player. Everything he does is the right way to do things.”
The hope now is for these Lakers to follow a similar path of the late 2000s squads and bring back a couple of NBA Championships. Redick is certainly going to put in all the necessary work on his end and with James and Doncic leading the way, anything is possible.
Lakers’ Dorian Finney-Smith named finalist for NBA Sportsmanship Award
Amongst the current Lakers roster Dorian Finney-Smith has stood out as one of the most beloved and respected players because of his relatively quiet nature, work ethic and willingness to sacrifice and do whatever the team asks of him.
As such, it isn’t much of a surprise that he was the franchise’s nominee for the NBA Sportsmanship Award and now Finney-Smith has been named one of six finalists alongside Kyrie Irving, Jarrett Allen, Shai Gilgious-Alexander, Jrue Holiday and Franz Wagner.
The final vote comes from the players themselves and will take place at the end of the regular season.
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