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By IAN HARRISON

Marc Gasol was 16 when his family moved from Barcelona to Memphis, Tennessee. Basketball helped bridge the yawning cultural chasm between the cities. Gasol played for a local high school team and sat in the stands to watch older brother Pau star for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

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After graduation, Gasol played professionally in Spain for three years. In 2008, he moved back to Memphis and joined the NBA.

“It felt like going back home,” Gasol said. “Most of my friends from high school were still in Memphis. It felt like I already knew everything about the organization. I knew all the routines and everybody there.”

Gasol played 769 games for Memphis over the next 10 and a half seasons. The team reached the playoffs seven times, but never won a title.

In 2019, the Grizzlies put Gasol on the trade block. On February 7, NBA trade deadline day, he got a call from Grizzlies owner Robert Pera.