Pau Gasol

Andrew D. Bernstein (0:00)

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Hey, everybody out there. This is Andy Bernstein, and I'm kicking off the third season of the Legends Of Sport podcast with Pau Gasol. I'm coming to you today from my office. I'm in a secret place here in my office that I can do this Corona cast, as we like to call it. Unfortunately, Pau and I couldn't be together due to the coronavirus, but he's at another location on the West Coast. He's kind enough to call in. I'm super happy to have him as guest. As we're all kind of dealing with the fallout of this Coronavirus and what it's doing, I'm really finding that there's such a need for sports content and new sports content. I'm really excited about bringing more podcasts to you guys because you guys have been so supportive and a great audience for so long. Today, Pau and I touched on some really relevant topics, how he's rehabbing his foot, how he's dealing with the quarantine as we all are from the Coronavirus, the interesting similarities that he had from being a player during the 2011 NBA lockout and what that was like to go from basketball to no basketball, with maybe no idea when you'd go back to basketball and what that's like as an athlete to deal with. Very interesting perspective on that. We talked about the trajectory of his career as a young Spaniard, watching the Dream Team at 12 years old in Barcelona and aspiring to become an NBA player, which he did, and his long career so far in the NBA, as well as his incredible relationship on and off the court with our mutual dear friend, Kobe Bryant. I hope you guys enjoy it. This is the first of many podcasts we're going to be bringing you during this really bizarre time that we're all living through, and I hope it fills the void a little bit of this desert of no sports. Any comments you guys have, we would love to hear them on our Instagram at Legends Of Sport and also on our Twitter at Legends Underscore Of Sport and on our blog, legendsofsport.blog. Stay tuned for Pau Gasol. He's coming right up. See you on the backside.

Well, I got to welcome my good friend, Pau Gasol to the Legends Of Sport podcast. How are you, sir?

Pau Gasol (3:25)

I'm doing well. Doing well. Things considered.

Andrew D. Bernstein (3:29)

Yeah, right. I mean, it's crazy. It's just absolutely insane what's going on. But I'm finding that staying connected to, what I love to do is in sports and restarting the podcast. You're my first guest in my third season. So I'm super thrilled to have you. And it's keeping me sane. So it's really the best I could do.

Where are you calling in from today, my friend?

Pau Gasol (4:00)

I'm actually in the West Coast. Okay, good. Spending time with my in-laws. We got stuck together, if you will.

Andrew D. Bernstein (4:12)

Yeah.

Pau Gasol (4:13)

In a good way. Not that it's a bad thing. But it's in my wife and my brother-in-law.

So it's been interesting, but we're just staying put right now. Being really respectful and understanding what's at stake and staying at home.

Andrew D. Bernstein (4:35)

Yeah.

It's mind-blowing. I mean, my daughter's classes were all canceled. My wife's working at home. I'm working at home. So it's going to be what it's going to be and we'll all get through it. And I think we're going to come out better as a country and as a human race. I can only hope. And I think we haven't seen the worst of it yet, but let's keep our fingers crossed, right?

Pau Gasol (5:02)

Absolutely. I think it's a good test for all of us to see how we deal with an unprecedented situation like this one and a biological and economic crisis like this one.

It's going to test us. It's testing us now to stay together, to stay calm, to stay positive, and figure it out and trust that our institutions, our scientists will do what they need to do in order to protect us and to give us tools to get through this.