During this Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, there will be a certain seven-foot power forward serving as Spain’s flag bearer. Pau Gasol was asked to be the nation’s flag bearer, after tennis superstar Rafael Nadal dropped out due to a knee injury, it was announced on Friday.
Not only is this a great honor for Gasol, Spain and the NBA, but it could potentially serve as a confidence boost for the former Rookie of The Year. The last two seasons, which have seen Gasol and the Lakers eliminated easily in the second round of the playoffs at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spaniard has been the scapegoat for a lot of the team’s shortcomings, in addition to being the subject of plenty of trade rumors.
Whether the blame was fair or foul is another story. But either way, Gasol has seemingly been lacking the confidence he exhibited when he helped lead the Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
Another thing that could potentially spark Gasol’s confidence is the fact Kobe Bryant recently endorsed Gasol when asked during an Olympic media session about his Spanish teammate being on the trading block.
Here is what Kobe had to say, via si.com:
“As long as I’m there, he’s going to be there.”
I am the one assuming Gasol’s recent struggles have been more mental than physical. If that’s the case, I am sure serving as the flag bearer and hearing Kobe sing your praises has to help his confidence a little bit. A strong showing in the Olympics wouldn’t hurt either.
There is no doubt the Lakers are a more improved team with the signings of Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison. But a fully, mentally healthy Gasol could be the difference in the Lakers being a really good team and a championship team in 2012-13.
Check out the video after the jump to listen to Gasol talk about serving as Spain’s flag bearer.
