Aug 26, 2015 at 12:58p ET
Aug 26, 2015 at 12:58p ET
Pau Gasol is one of the more cerebral basketball players around, and definitely one of the more unique in terms of his off-the-court interests.
Gasol was part of the contingent that visited Africa last month to play in the continent's first-ever NBA game, and in a piece he penned for The Players Tribune, he said that Nelson Mandela was one of his childhood idols.
"When you’re young, you have role models you look up to. Mine was Nelson Mandela. I remember the day I first read Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, when I was 24 years old.