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For 12 years, Marc Gasol and LeBron James have had their battles. Although they have never faced each other in the NBA Playoffs, they have faced each other on the international stage on several occasions.
In 2006, the Gasol and Spain men’s basketball team defeated James and the US team in the semi-finals of the FIBA World Cup. Spain won the tournament. Then, in 2008, the US team got their revenge at the Beijing Olympics, where they beat Spain in the 118-107 gold medal match. The US team also beat Spain for the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics. It’s over a decade of history.
Now James and Gasol will put it all behind them to try and win some material with the Los Angeles Lakers – okay, maybe not all of it. In an interview with Spectrum SportsNet’s Allie Clifton, James took Gasol a light blow by saying he deserved the 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year award, which Gasol won:
“I’m very happy to have Big Marc Gasol… another champion, won with the Raptors two years ago, whom I’ve always loved. Marc has my Defensive Player of the Year trophy at home, but it’s neither here nor there… I love you Marc, I can’t wait to talk about it.
To date, the vote for the 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year award has come under heavy criticism as Gasol won the award despite not being elected to the All-Defensive First Team. James was tied with Tony Allen for most first-team defensive votes that year.
James and Gasol, soon to be 36, may not compete for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award, but they will both need to help the Lakers maintain their status as an elite defensive team. . . Last season, the Lakers finished the regular season with the third best defensive rating.
If they can do that and win a championship together, maybe James will be ready to put 2013 aside … maybe.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast on itunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.
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