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HOCKEY

NBA’s Jerebko returns to Sweden

Following his first season in the NBA, Jonas Jerebko has returned to Sweden to a warm reception from both the media and fans.

NBA's Jerebko returns to Sweden

The 2.08m power forward is the first Swedish player in the league and was selected 39th in the NBA draft last year by the Detroit Pistons.

“And I had not even seen an NBA game live before,” Jerebko told news agency TT on Monday.

Jerebko will spend the summer training and playing several matches with the Swedish national team before heading back to Detroit in the fall.

Earlier this month, the native of Kinna in western Sweden was named an ambassador of Mark, his home county, which also organised a street basketball event where locals could challenge Jerebko.

Local fans will be able to cheer him on when the Swedish national men’s team takes on Estonia on August 3rd in nearby Borås.

Jerebko’s father, Chris, is an American who played basketball professionally in Sweden and settled in the country. The younger Jerebko played professionally in Sweden and Italy before entering the NBA draft in 2009.

Jerebko impressed fans and pundits alike as a rookie despite the Pistons’ dismal 2009-2010 campaign, in which they finished last in the Central Division and posted their first 50-loss season since 2001.

Jerebko has a number of dedicated fans in Detroit who form the “Jerebko Row” and was named numerous times to top rookie lists in blogs and publications such as Sports Illustrated throughout the season.

“Every time I score a point, a Viking hat is given to the spectators,” said Jerebko. “It is a popular thing.”

Despite being selected last among Detroit’s rookies, he started the most games out of the entire team, 73 out of the 82 in the regular season.

Jerebko hopes his success will help further develop Swedish basketball.

“Hopefully I’ve opened up a door and shown that it is possible,” he said.

Jerebko is not the only NBA player with a Swedish connection. Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls is the son of French tennis star Yannick Noah and former Miss Sweden Cécila Rohde.

Jerebko is also not the only Swede playing professional sport in the city. Nine Swedes play for the Detroit Red Wings, including captain Nicklas Lidström and alternate captain Henrik Zetterberg, and are indispensable to the NHL franchise’s success.

The Swedes on the Red Wings are known as “The Swedish Five,” referring to the players who won gold in hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, the “Swedish Embassy on Ice” and the “IKEA Express.”

The Wings fared better than the Pistons this season despite their recent knockout from the second round of the NHL playoffs. The team has won four Stanley Cups in nine years, last in 2008.

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SPORT

Spain’s greatest-ever basketball player Pau Gasol retires

Double NBA winner and Europe's most successful basketballer Pau Gasol said on Tuesday he had made the "difficult decision" to retire, but at 41 was at ease with his choice.

Spain's greatest-ever basketball player Pau Gasol retires
Spanish player Pau Gasol Saez attends a press conference to announce his retirement, at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, on October 5, 2021. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Gasol, the older brother of recently-released Memphis Grizzlies centre Marc Gasol, won the competition in 2009 and 2010 during his time at the Los Angeles Lakers.

Two years ago, he suffered a foot injury which threatened to end his career earlier than planned.

“It is a difficult decision. As you can imagine, it is difficult, after so many years, but it is a considered decision, you have to change gear a little, and know how to enjoy it,” ex-centre Gasol told reporters at a press conference in Barcelona.

“I wanted to end up playing and enjoying myself, not on crutches and with operations,” he added.

He was a six-time NBA All-Star after being named the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2002 and won his two NBA crowns alongside Kobe Bryant.

Gasol emotionally paid tribute to former Lakers team-mate Bryant, who died in January 2020 in a helicopter crash.

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 12: Pau Gasol #16 and Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate a play in the second quarter while taking on the Denver Nuggets in Game Seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs on May 12, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.   Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Los Angeles Lakers stars Gasol and Bryant celebrate a play during the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Photo: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AFP

“One last word for my friend Kobe Bryant. I would have really liked for him to be here, but it’s not possible,” Gasol said with tears in his eyes.

“Life isn’t fair some times. He taught me how to be a better player, a better leader, I always considered him as a big brother,” he added.

‘The Golden Kids’

For Spain, Gasol, who also had spells with the Grizzlies, the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs and the Milwaukee Bucks, claimed two Olympic silver medals and a bronze as well as three EuroBasket crowns.

He was the leader of his country’s generation nicknamed ‘The Golden Kids’ as he led a side including his sibling as well as former Grizzlies shooting guard Juan Carlos Navarro and ex-Portland TrailBlazers small forward Rudy Fernandez to the 2006 FIBA World Cup.

(L-R) Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Marc Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro react as Spain wins the gold medal of the Eurobasket 2011 in Kaunas on September 18, 2011. Spain defeated France 98-85. AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI (Photo by JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP)
(L-R) Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, Marc Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro react as Spain wins the gold medal of the Eurobasket 2011 in Kaunas on September 18, 2011. Spain defeated France 98-85. AFP PHOTO / JANEK SKARZYNSKI (Photo by JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP)

The Catalan, standing at 2.16m, is among the continent’s greatest players in the NBA along with German Dirk Nowitzki, Croatian Drazen Petrovic, the “Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo and Frenchman Tony Parker, who he passed as EuroBasket’s leading scorer in 2017.

His last international appearance came at this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo during the quarter-final defeat to the USA.

He finished his club career with a Liga ACB title in Spain in June while with hometown club Barcelona but failed to clinch the EuroLeague.

“I am thankful to all. Having won one more league with Barca,” he said.

Gasol said he did not want to become a coach but indicated that his future still lay within the game he has graced for over 20 years. “Consultant or director… We’ll see. I’ve already started to speak with many NBA teams,” he said.

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