SAN ANTONIO — Even as he nears the end of a career that likely will land him in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame someday, Spurs forward/center Pau Gasol is sure of at least one thing as he prepares for his 19th NBA season.
He wants to remain a starter in his third season with San Antonio.
Gasol has made that abundantly clear early in training camp. He started the Spurs’ first preseason game against Miami on Sunday, finishing with three points, one rebound and one assist in limited action.
“I always want to start,” he said after the first day of camp. “I’ve been a starter my entire career. But at the same time, I understand that if a team at some point or any particular given time needs me to come off the bench and assume that role, I will because this is a team sport and I will have to do whatever is best for my team.”
Gasol said he believes he still has the skills to be an effective starter.
“I’m always going to demand a lot of myself,” he said. “I’m going to push my limits and I’m not going to sell myself short. No limits. If it’s a running game, let’s run. If it’s a shooting game, let’s shoot. That’s how I’ve always overachieved, and I will continue to do that until the day I die in whatever I do."
“So, my mindset is to set the bar high and push myself, to be the best that I can be. That’s why they pay me the big bucks as well. I’m not under a minimum contract at this point, and I will live up to that," Gasol said.
Under terms of a three-year, $48 million contract he signed last July, Gasol will draw a salary of $16.8 million this season.
Gasol will be on the court when the Spurs have their annual Silver and Black scrimmage at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the AT&T Center. The event is open to the public and there is no admission charge. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Parking also will be free.
Gasol, who turned 38 in July, became the oldest player on the Spurs’ roster when 41-year-old Manu Ginobili retired in late August. With Tony Parker gone, too, Gasol will be counted on to provide leadership for a team in transition.
“I have to,” Gasol said, when he was asked if he’s going to take more of a leadership role. “There’s no way around it. With two guys like Manu and Tony not present now, I’m the most veteran guy on the team even though I haven’t been here the longest. But I have been around the game the longest, and I have a set of skills that no one else really has.
“So, I’ll try to give as much as I can and produce as much as I can, and share my knowledge and experience to help these young guys and our team to kind of go through this adjustment period, so we can be the best that we can be as soon as possible.”
A six-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection, Gasol has played in 1,196 games since he entered the league in 2001. He has started in all but 52 of those games, including 39 with the Spurs the past two seasons.
Gasol came off the bench only six times in 476 games during his seven-year stint with Memphis, his first NBA employer. He started 422 of 429 games with the Los Angeles Lakers after he was traded on Feb. 1, 2008. Gasol spent the prime of his career with the Lakers, winning two NBA championships in 2009 and 2010.
Gasol was a starter in all 150 games he played with the Chicago Bulls in the two seasons before he signed with the Spurs as a free agent in July 2016.
A native of Spain, Gasol made the All-NBA second team in 2011 and 2015, and the third team in 2009 and 2010.
Noted for his high basketball IQ, Gasol’s feel for the game makes him an outstanding facilitator. He consistently has drawn praise from his teammates for his passing skills.
“Pau is a very skilled big, a really good passer,” Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge said Tuesday. “He gets me easy shots at the rim. When I run the floor, I know I can seal my guy because he is going to throw it over the top.”
Aldridge opened the scoring for the Spurs in their 104-100 win over Miami on Sunday, taking a high-low pass from Gasol for an easy layup.
“Last year, we developed a great chemistry, connection,” Gasol said. “He understands that I am player who looks to pass a lot, looks to get easier baskets. And if I can get him a nice, easy layup, I will."