February 9, 2016 - The NBA announced today that Bulls forward/center Pau Gasol will replace injured Bulls guard/forward Jimmy Butler in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game. For Gasol, it marks the second consecutive season that he has been named an All-Star and his sixth selection overall.
The 35-year old Gasol has appeared in 48 games, where he has averaged 17.0 ppg, 10.9 rpg (third in the East; sixth in the NBA), 3.3 apg, 2.02 bpg (second in the East; fifth in the NBA) and 0.63 spg in 31.9 mpg. On the year, he is shooting .477 from the floor and .809 from the line. He has also turned in a team-high 29 double-doubles (second in the East; fifth in the NBA).
A 14-year veteran of the NBA, Gasol has led Chicago in scoring 12 times, in boards 33 times and in assists eight times. He has scored 20 or more points 14 times, including two contests with at least 30 points. The Bulls big man has also grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 31 games. Gasol also joins former Bulls center Artis Gilmore (1978, 1979; 1981, 1982) and Joakim Noah (2013, 2014) as the only big men in team history to garner All-Star accolades in consecutive seasons.
NBA All-Star 2016, the 65th NBA All-Star Game, will be played in Toronto at Air Canada Centre on Sunday, Feb. 14 (7:30 p.m., CT) and will be televised on TNT.