Derek Fisher: "We didn't know how Pau Gasol was going to fit in with the Lakers, but in the first game it was as if we had been around forever"

Lucas Sáez-Bravo

Updated Friday, April 5, 2024-21:21

Andrés Montes

called

Derek

Fisher

(Little Rock, USA, 1974)

El Reflexivo

. A left-handed point guard, an expert defender and with enough charisma to lead the Lakers in two of their great and recent historical periods. After winning the

Three Peat

with

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant

, he added two more rings with

Pau Gasol

on the team. He played 18 seasons in the NBA and only

LeBron James

has played more playoff games than him. The former president of the players' union (NBPA) and briefly coach of the Knicks, remembers those unique moments for EL MUNDO.

How do you remember your time in the Lakers with Pau and Kobe? They were very special moments. And the ones who really made them that way were these two human beings. Pau is not only one of the best players to ever play basketball, he is also one of the best people on Earth. Kobe also embodied a great human spirit. Achieving great things on a court with these guys is based on who they are and how fun it was to work with them every day. What was Pau's arrival to the team like in 2008? I had returned to Los Angeles in 2007, I returned to Joining Kobe and Phil Jackson was Andrew Bynum, a big, young center who was improving. Lamar Odom, Luke Walton... we had important pieces. When the news of Pau's transfer came in February 2008, we were excited, but we didn't know how it would fit. And I vividly remember his first game, in New Jersey against the Nets. It was as if we had been partners for years, as if we had played forever. The fluidity with which he came into our system and how he was able to fit into what we were doing offensively, the way he shared and passed the ball, the ability for him to score. It was an instant adjustment. With him, we immediately had a legitimate chance to win the ring. Kobe said that you were his favorite teammate. What was the most impressive thing about him? What impressed me most about Kobe's personality is that he never stopped wanting to learn or having the desire to grow. Most of us, when we feel like we've mastered something or have it figured out, we stick with it, we don't continue to raise the level of curiosity further. Being around him every day, seeing the way he tried to find ways to improve, even though he was already one of the best players in the world, was really impressive.

Gasol, Kobe and Derek Fisher, with the Lakers titles.AP

With Shaq and Kobe, in addition to winning three rings, he wouldn't get bored...Shaq was the fiercest dominant force in NBA history. And at the same time, he literally made you laugh every day of your life. Just being around him, coming up with silly ways to make people laugh and enjoying being around him.... When you think about what we were accomplishing, in the three rings in a row, the pressure and the expectations were very high. . Luckily we didn't have social media at the time. Shaq's sense of humor helped us handle that pressure, all our emotions. It was like letting the air out a little to be able to continue fighting for the ring. How do you see the current Lakers [today, 9:30 p.m., they face the Cavaliers, Movistar+ and NBA League Pass]? If you have two of the best players in the world on your team you have a chance to win, that's for sure. Anthony Davis has stayed healthy and played consistently as always. When you add that to LeBron's eternal competitiveness... The two of them can take on any challenge. They will have a legitimate opportunity. The problem is finding yourself against the Nuggets in the playoffs, a team that knows better than you how to do things right, because they have already achieved something together. That's the most challenging thing. I don't know if there is any team in the West other than Oklahoma and Denver that can be better than the Lakers. The Thunder are a young and inexperienced team in terms of playoffs and that can make the Lakers win the series. It is very possible that we will see the Lakers and the Nuggets in the conference finals again. What do you think of

Luka Doncic

's impact ? I have never played with Luka, but seeing the evolution of him, he reminds me of great players like Kobe . I'm curious about the way his brain works. It's like he does and sees things that other people can't and he's willing to take the risk to make the play. We have seen his frustration at not being able to lead his team to win the title. While he is still fulfilling himself as an individual player, he already wants to win. I think he's late to the MVP conversation this season, because the Mavericks weren't as consistent for most of the season. But in the last six or seven weeks, they have been playing like the best teams in the NBA. Finally, who is the player you are most enjoying right now?

Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]

. He is an old school NBA point guard. He doesn't shoot triples and triples, he plays a little slow, he changes pace a lot. He is probably the player I enjoy the most.