How many years did Pau Gasol play for the Lakers, and how many championships has he won with the team?

Two-time champion Pau Gasol had his number retired by the LA Lakers on Tuesday night. The evening saw the NBA and FIBA legend honored with friends, family and former teammates all in attendance. In fitting fashion, the evening also saw the team pick up a much-needed win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

With that, let's take a look back at Gasol's career, specifically his six-and-a-half seasons with the Lakers. After spending six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers traded for Gasol in February 2008 to help Kobe Bryant on his quest to bring the team another title.

The move came in the midst of the 2007-08 season, with Pau Gasol playing 27 games for the Lakers before wrapping up the year. The very next year, in 2008-09, he and Kobe Bryant won their first of two championships together while Gasol averaged 18.9 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game.

The following year, in 2009-10, Gasol, Bryant and the Lakers went back-to-back in the NBA Finals, winning yet another championship. Gasol's play that year was impressive, averaging 18.3 ppg and 11.3 rpg, the second-highest rebounding average of his career.

After coming up short in the next four seasons with the Lakers, Gasol signed with the Chicago Bulls, where he spent the next two seasons. After then spending three years with the Spurs, he suited up three times for the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2018-19 season.

Above, you can view Pau Gasol's jersey retirement.

Pau Gasol's career and legacy

While Gasol's jersey retirement was a happy occasion that saw the NBA and FIBA legend celebrated for his achievements, it was also bittersweet. As the evening's festivities kicked off during halftime of the Lakers-Grizzlies game, Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa Bryant, was the first person up.

Vanessa introduced a video of her late husband Kobe Bryant excitedly speaking about the day Gasol's jersey would be hung in the rafters. As he watched, Gasol began to understandably tear up.

LA Lakers great Pau Gasol

“I’m just overwhelmed to see the faces here, all of you," Gasol said. "It’s been my honor to wear this jersey, to play for this franchise and to help this team. … I would have never in a million years believed a day like this could come. It just tells you to never say never. Just push yourself every day to be the best that you can be.”

During the game, former Chicago Bulls teammate Jimmy Butler surprised Gasol. As Butler made his way to his seat, he tapped Gasol on the shoulder before the two shared a big hug.

“The excitement, the anticipation, the honor received, it’s just so big that it’s been hard to really take it in," Gasol said. "I have to keep reminding myself that it’s a celebration. It’s great. It’s lovely. It’s just great that you can experience this in your life.”