Pau Gasol Says He 'Wouldn't Be' in Hall Of Fame Without Kobe Bryant: 'Miss You and Love You'

The six-time NBA All-Star was inducted into the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class on Saturday

Pau Gasol is sharing his latest honor with late basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

The six-time NBA All-Star, 43, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers with Bryant and retired in 2021, was inducted into this year's Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class on Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Accepting his accolades with fellow greats like Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Gregg Popovich, Gasol's speech took an emotional turn when he brought up Bryant, who died tragically in a helicopter crash in 2020 at age 41 with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others.

"Kobe Bryant took my game to the next level," the Spanish athlete said of Bryant, "Taught me what it took to win at the highest level" and "showed me how hard you have to work and the mentality that you have to have in order to be the best."

Continued Gasol: "The commitment you had to make, what it meant and what it took to be a leader. Kobe."

Related: Pau Gasol Shares 'Extremely Intense' Feelings of Missing Kobe Bryant: 'I Go Forward Knowing He's Watching'

The camera panned to Kobe's widow, Vanessa Bryant, 41, whose eyes fluttered with emotion at the mention of her husband's name, as she applauded Gasol.

Gasol described how Bryant welcomed him to the team in 2008. "He just wanted to make sure that right away, firsthand, I got the message," he said of arriving to the hotel for his first game the next day, "He said, 'Welcome to the team, I'm happy you're here, now let's go win a championship together.' I said, 'Alright man, I'm in' ... and that was it. That was it. No crap. Straight to the chase."

"I wouldn't be here without you brother," he added. "I wish more than ever that you and Gigi were here today with us," he said as his eyes teared up. "I miss you and love you."

Related: NBA Hall-of-Famer Pau Gasol Named Recipient of 2023 Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award

Gasol also thanked Vanessa for being there tonight. "I'm proud to be a brother and and uncle to your wonderful girls."

Kobe and Vanessa had four daughters together. Kobe is survived by Natalia, 20, and younger sisters Bianka, 6, and Capri, 4.

In February, Gasol was awarded the WNBA's 2023 Kobe & Gigi Bryant Advocacy Award, with "significant contributions to the advancement of girls' and women's basketball," the WNBA said in a release at the time.

Vanessa Bryant and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented Gasol with the award during the NBA All-Star Game in Utah.

"I'm so pleased that Pau has been chosen to receive this award. Pau has done so much to promote women and girls in sports and cares deeply about spreading a message of equality, which was so important to Kobe and Gianna," said Bryant, the Chair of the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a positive impact for underserved athletes and boys and girls in sports.

"We are grateful to the WNBA and Pau for continuing to honor Kobe and Gianna in this way," she added.

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In March, Gasol's #16 jersey was retired next to Kobe's #24 at Crypto.Com arena, formerly the Staples Center.

As the crowd broke out into a "Kobe" chant, Gasol said, "I miss him so much, like many of us do. I love him; I wish he was here with Gigi, I really do. But, I think he'll be proud and he was looking forward to this moment. I love you, brother."

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