Pablo Laso – EuroLeague as a coach, ACB legend as a player
Basketball fans know Pablo Laso primarily as the head coach under whom Real Madrid once again became a EuroLeague powerhouse, and who was thrown overboard from the Spanish royal club in a way that angered some of the players. What is much less known is that the accomplished coach from Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, enjoyed a long and at times brilliant playing career.
That the higher forces decided to focus on his intellectual side when giving out assets, it is no wonder that the Spaniard, with a height of mere 178 cm, acted as a conductor of attacks on the court.
Similarly, it is not shocking that the lion’s share of Laso’s playing career was spent at his hometown club Baskonia, where he only won one title in 11 years, but it was very significant. Namely, the club had not won any important trophys, until the 1995 Spanish Cup.
Laso’s role was very important. Although the American under-the-basket force Kenny Green shone in the final with 20 points and 20 rebounds, the most valuable player of the tournament was the conductor of attacks, who now has returned to Baskonia and will face the EuroLeague season starting this week as the team’s head coach.
Laso’s mishap in Italy
If today the strongest premier league in Europe is in Spain, at the end of the 20th century it was Italy. The reason lay in the fact that the championship series there was the richest and best in terms of level in Old Europe.
After Baskonia’s time, Laso, who played for Real Madrid for two seasons and won one Euroseries, accepted a seemingly surprising invitation: the manager joined hands with Trieste, which had fallen to the Italian Premier League.
The club had only one goal: to rise back to high society. At the end of the regular season, Montecatini Snaile, which secured direct access to Serie A1, was firmly behind, but Livorno was defeated in a powerful five-game series in the play-off final.
Only that Laso could not celebrate the achievement of the big goal with his companions. At the decision of the head coach Cesare Pancotto, he was kicked out of the club halfway through the season, because the Spaniard played very badly.
Laso has said in a podcast that he has no complaints against the instructor: he was indeed a poor player. “If I had been in Cesare’s shoes, I would have let go of Laso much earlier,” said the Spaniard. “He was very patient with me because I couldn’t play like I did at home. In the end, it was a difficult year, but I also gained valuable experiences. Besides, my first child was born in Trieste!”
By the way, it seems that the connection between Laso and Trieste has not been broken in 25 years. In one of the pre-season test matches, Baskonia hosted Trieste, which has returned to the Italian championship series for this season, and was defeated by Markus Howard 93:76.
Laso the record setter
After returning from Italy, Laso did not have to look for a new club for long. He was offered a contract by Malaga Unicaja, whose attacks the baller managed to conduct in only nine matches, as the southern Spanish team did not reach the qualifying games. Laso played a lot, but his statistics remained modest and the Malaga team won only four out of nine games.
Laso didn’t start inventing the wheel in his career that lasted until 2003 and stayed in familiar terriotry, that is, he only operated in Spain. He did not represent any famous club, held in high esteem.
Individually, Laso’s best season was 1993/94, when he averaged ten points, 9.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds in a Baskonia shirt in the Spanish Championship (ACB). This result sprung in a situation where he shot just 38.6% from the field.
Looking at Laso’s stats, it’s interesting to note that while he was a solid passer, he also had a lot of turnovers. For example, in that same 93/94 season, he sinned with it 4.1 times per game. There is no doubt that coach Laso would have scolded player Laso for that.
Likewise, it cannot be ignored that while short game managers are generally (very) good free throwers, Laso’s percentage is more like that of some under-the-basket power. At best, he hit 81.6% of his one-pointers in the Spanish league, but most of the time the percentage was around 70.
In addition to his many productive passes, Laso also had a very good nose for steals. In his 19-year career in the Spanish Premier League, he recorded at least two per match in ten seasons and was very close to it in four more seasons.
Laso also has one record in the Spanish championship series: no one has managed more than his 1219 steals. Apparently, this top mark will remain put for a long time, since there is no currently active ballers in the top ten.
Laso lost one record as late as last season. Namely, his 2,896 resultative passes was the top mark in the Spanish league for just over 20 years, but the 41-year-old Brazilian Marcelo Huertas took it to his name in March this year.
Finally, it should be noted that Laso also managed to represent Spain during his career. In 61 national team battles, he also managed to play at the European Championship and the World Cup, at the 1995 Old World Championship, the hero of our story was the best passer by far in Spain, who finished sixth.
