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The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a new statue on Friday which was the second of three that the club intends to install for the late Kobe Bryant, who is a legend of both the sport and the Lakers franchise.
One of the best-documented elements of Kobe's career was his immensely good friendship with Pau Gasol, with the American and the Spaniard appearing more like brothers than just friends.
The second statue was particularly special as it featured Kobe and Gigi together, Gigi being his daughter who also died in the same helicopter crash as Kobe in early 2020 which shocked the entire world.
Naturally, Vanessa Bryant was there with all of her daughters for what was both a proud and incredibly tough moment for her, but Gasol was not. He is almost always by the side of the Bryant family during big moments as he has stayed close with them since Kobe and Gigi ed.
Why was Gasol not there?
There is no doubt that Gasol would have wanted to be in LA for the unveiling, but there are a couple of presumed reasons why he couldn't make it.
The 44-year-old has been among the of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Athletes' Commission since 2021.
With the 2024 Paris Olympics currently underway, he is not in a position to be flying around the world for events and he has been doing some very important work.
Another reason could be that he is expecting another child in the coming months and preparations will be well underway.
He has not issued a statement about his absence, but it is safe to assume that his reasons are more than fair.