By April MacIntyre Jun 19, 2010, 16:36 GMT
Pau Gasol was on Leno last night, and NBC sent the full interview for you to review:
Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol of Spain (C) reacts after scoring as teammate Kobe Bryant looks on during the second half of game seven of the NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 17 June 2010. The Lakers defeated the Celtics 83-79 to win their 16th franchise championships. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH
One day after defeating the Boston Celtics to win the 2010 NBA Championships on June 17, Los Angeles Laker Pau Gasol continued the celebration on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (Monday-Friday, 11:35 p.m. ET) on Friday, June 18.
In the climactic game seven, NBA All-Star Gasol had 19 points, 18 rebounds and 4 assists.
Gasol talked to Leno about his concern after trailing at the end of the first half, the Celtics/Lakers rivalry and going into a game seven.
When Leno asked Gasol if legendary Coach Phil Jackson was going to retire, he replied, “I hope not. He’s a great coach and he’s definitely a guy that we want to continue to have along [with] us. So, hopefully he’ll stay with us.”
If the seven-footer had not become one of the premier players of the game, Gasol said that it is likely he would have followed in his parents’ footsteps and gone into the medical field.
“My mom is a doctor, my dad is nurse that’s always been around the house and just certain things [inspired me] when I was 11 years old, and I heard about Magic’s (Johnson) disease, HIV-positive, really caught my attention and I loved basketball at the time already -- he’s obviously an icon all around the world -- and it was so shocking to hear, because at that time it was pretty new, AIDS and everything...it equals death pretty much. It was so shocking that immediately I wanted to try to do something about it and the only was to try to be a doctor.”
The Laker forward/center remains committed to the medical field and is involved with the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles working in the orthopedic program. Gasol is currently planning on sitting in on an upcoming spinal surgery.
In addition to his accomplishments in the NBA, Gasol won an Olympic silver medal playing for his home country of Spain in 2008, and in 2006, he earned a gold medal in the FIBA World Championship.
The Finals game on June 17 marked the fifth time the Lakers and Celtics have met in a championship game seven -- and Boston had never lost a game seven against Los Angeles [with wins in 1962, 1966, 1969 and 1984] until this year.
“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” is from Big Dog Productions in association with Universal Media Studios. Debbie Vickers is the executive producer.
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