Grizzlies' Marc Gasol tries soccer-style header after getting fouled
Sure, Marc Gasol has become an all-world basketball player — one of the linchpins of the Spanish national team that won FIBA EuroBasket 2009 and earned silver at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, the 2008 MVP of Spain's top pro league, the NBA's 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year, and a two-time All-Star who will start at center for the Western Conference this year. But like so many European players and athletes in his native Spain, the Barcelona-born-and-trained big man's first love was soccer.
“When I had a break,” he told Roger Bennett of Men in Blazers last year, “I was ... kicking the football.”
[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Judging by his exploits during the Memphis Grizzlies' Monday matchup with the Orlando Magic, he spent some time learning how to head it, too.
Players have lots of different ways of registering their frustration with not being able to convert an and-one layup while being fouled. Credit "Big Spain" for coming through with one of the more creative ones we've seen recently, and for giving us cause to recall the Steve Nash-to-Amar'e Stoudemire assist in the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest.
While Gasol clearly has an aptitude for the beautiful game, luckily for Memphians and all denizens of the Grindhouse far and wide, the 7-footer chose a sport in which he was allowed to use his hands. Opponents like Dewayne Dedmon, though? They're not so lucky that Marc chose this particular path:
Looks like Gasol's tag-team partner Zach Randolph isn't the only Memphis mauler who's "good with these hands, man." (Now I really want to see Z-Bo try a header.)
Gasol finished with 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in 34 1/2 minutes of work as Memphis dispatched the Magic, 103-94, to improve to 32-12 on the season and move a half-game clear of the Portland Trail Blazers (who were idle, thanks to inclement weather in New York City) to take sole possession of second place in the Western Conference. Randolph led the way with a game-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting, 10 rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes, posting his ninth straight double-double to propel the Grizzlies to their eighth win in nine games.
More NBA coverage:
- - - - - - -
Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
Stay connected with Ball Don't Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, "Like" BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.
