Spanish basketball great Pau Gasol announced on Tuesday that he is retiring from the sport after a 23-year career.
"I'm here to tell you that I'm going to retire from professional basketball. It's a difficult decision after so many years but it's a decision I've taken carefully," Gasol, 41, told a news conference at Barcelona's Liceu theater.
Gasol, who stands at 215 cm, made his professional debut in 1998 with Barca as a center before being signed by the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies in 2001.