Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol is the winner of this season’s PBWA Magic Johnson Award, which is presented by 175 members of the Basketball Writers Association to an NBA player who, “best combines excellence on the basketball court with cooperation and dignity in dealing with the media and public.” Gasol beat out fellow finalists Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Manu Ginobili, and Damian Lillard.
Gasol talked about winning the award with the Chicago Tribune:
“I just try to be helpful. I try to help other people do their jobs well,” Gasol said. “I understand my position and that this is a part of our jobs. So I always try to be kind and polite, even when I’m not feeling great or I might be upset because of the loss. I understand that it’s still part of my job to be one of the team’s leaders and role models to stand up and share my thoughts when I need.”
“It’s easy to be friendly. It’s easy to be kind,” Gasol said. “It rubs off on people, so you want to balance out the negatives in the world with some positives. So that’s what I try to do.”
Pau touched on his feelings about the media who have so often criticized him:
“I try to understand that it’s nothing personal,” Gasol said of the criticism. “People are just trying to do their jobs. I don’t like people getting me to react in a negative way. So when there’s criticism, when things are not going well, you understand it, you accept it, and then you spend some time with yourself and you release and understand why things happened and you move on.”
Gasol is much deserving of this accolade because while he is a respected and skilled competitor, he also exhibits consistent high character on and off the court and with the media.
