Yesterday, 34 years ago, Kobe Bryant was brought into this world. With a history of basketball in the family with father Joe “Jellybean” Bryant playing in the NBA, ABA and overseas, Kobe was born and bred for the sport.
As a tribute to Kobe, Pau Gasol wished his Los Angeles Lakers teammate a happy birthday via Twitter:
Today is the birthday of a good friend and teammate! Happy birthday Kobe! What do you think about the cake!?
@lakers twitter.com/paugasol/statu…— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) August 23, 2012
After dodging a trade throughout the NBA regular season and surviving the off-season as well, no one on the current Los Angeles Lakers roster is happier than Pau Gasol. Along with being able to stay in Los Angeles for at least one more year, Gasol will also get to play alongside Dwight Howard, Steve Nash as well as Kobe Bryant next season.
With the lethal combination of these superstars in Los Angeles, Gasol will get his opportunity to win one or two more championships with the Lakers before his contract expires.
Unfortunately, if things start to fall apart with reloaded Lakers next season Gasol may be one of the first players to be sent elsewhere. Lakers Coach Mike Brown might also be a victim of a disappointing result after the 2012-13 NBA season.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for the new-look Lakers moving forward as Gasol might the one player to benefit the most from the addition of two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash. The presence of Howard in the paint will also help Gasol defending the basket, but Nash will definitely get Gasol more involved offensively.
As for Kobe, the pressure will finally be off his shoulders to lead the way on the offensive end of the floor. The days of Kobe putting up 40 or more points in a game may be over with the superstar guard getting help on the offensive end of the floor from Nash, Howard, Gasol and Antawn Jamison.
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In case you missed it, our fans wished Kobe a happy birthday too!
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