"Ready for another one": Gasol reflects on Raptors' title and epic parade

Marc Gasol might have been honoured this past week for his time with the Memphis Grizzlies, but that doesn’t make his brief tenure with the Toronto Raptors any less special.

Gasol, who had his jersey retired over the weekend by Memphis to recognize his 11 seasons with the Grizzlies franchise, still clearly holds his parts of two seasons in Toronto in a special place in his heart nearly four years after leaving the team.

Speaking to William Lou on Sportsnet’s The Raptors Show in an interview released Monday, Gasol revisited the 2019 NBA championship run for Toronto.

Toronto’s run was spurned on by one of the most legendary moments in NBA history, where Kawhi Leonard sunk a game-winner buzzer-beater in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to knock out the Philadelphia 76ers.

“Sometimes in sports, little things make a huge difference. And we had a couple of lucky bounces on the rim that I don’t think I’ve ever seen like that. And I played a lot of ball,” Gasol said. “It could have went either way. We were just on the lucky side this time.”

Gasol himself had the task of guarding Philadelphia centre Joel Embiid, who was held to averages of 17.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in the series, a far cry from his regular season marks of 27.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

“You go seven games against somebody, you’re not going to be in love with the person that you’re going against,” Gasol said of the matchup against Embiid. “You’re trying to do what was best for your team to win. But nothing but respect. And I told him that his time was coming. Obviously, he became an MVP a few years later.”

But Gasol’s most memorable moment in Toronto was undoubtedly an epic celebratory parade where he was the star of the show for his intoxication, dancing along the top of the team bus while holding a quickly empty wine bottle, beer, champagne, and just about anything else he could find.

“It just happened all at once,” Gasol said. “Try to cheer and have a beer with the three and a half million people. It was fun. I had a great time… and I’m ready for another one.”

Marc Gasol living his best life 😂#WeTheNorthDay | @Raptors pic.twitter.com/kpBJ4hHxsO

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 17, 2019

During the infamous parade, it looked like Gasol might’ve toppled off the top of the bus while leaning over the edge, but he assured Lou that he still had his feet under him.

“I was not even halfway there,” Gasol added.

The full interview is available below:

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