The WNBA announced on Sunday that NBA great Pau Gasol would be honored with the league's 2023 Kobe & Gigi Bryant Advocacy Award.

The 42-year-old NBA legend is due to receive the award for his outstanding contributions" to "the development of women's and girls' basketball, according to the WNBA press release.

Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa Bryant, and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert were awarded the two-time NBA champion during the NBA All-Star Game in Utah Sunday night, according to People.

"I'm so pleased that Pau has been chosen to receive this award. Pau has done so much to promote women and girls in sports and cares deeply about spreading a message of equality, which was so important to Kobe and Gianna," said Vanessa, 40.

Vanessa is also the Chair of the non-profit Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which works to improve the lives of underprivileged athletes and young men and women through sports, made this statement.

"We are grateful to the WNBA and Pau for continuing to honor Kobe and Gianna in this way," she added.

READ NEXT: Pau Gasol Retires From Basketball 

Pau Gasol and WNBA

Gasol has been a vocal supporter of the WNBA for a long time, and in 2018, he wrote an article in The Players' Tribune titled "An Open Letter About Female Coaches" that called for more recognition and investment in the WNBA and NBA's female coaches in the wake of the success of coach Becky Hammon.

Gasol was one of twenty-two backers who chipped in $75 million to help expand the WNBA in 2022.

He is still a supporter and investment in the league, FinnoExpert says.

Gasol said, "It is an honor to receive this distinction, which makes me especially happy because it represents two people who are and will always be in my heart."

He also said that Kobe's efforts, particularly in his later years, to promote women's sports are illustrative of the work that needs to be done to achieve true equality in sports.

Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol forged a formidable force for the Los Angeles Lakers, who won consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010, per Lakers Nation.

When playing together, Bryant and Gasol developed a deep friendship that would last until the day of Bryant's untimely death in a helicopter accident in 2020.

Gigi and Kobe's deaths affected Gasol deeply, as the rest of the world did, but their memories will carry on forever thanks to their enduring legacies.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol is experiencing a momentous weekend as he travels to Utah for NBA All-Star Weekend.

The announcement that Gasol is a finalist for the 2023 Hall of Fame class came just hours before he led one of the Rising Stars teams to victory Friday night.

Gasol's Lakers uniform will also be retired soon; on March 7, the No. 16 will be raised into the rafters next to Bryant's Nos. 8 and 24.

Gasol showed he was a terrific basketball player and a great person every day of his life.

After the tragic events of 2020, Pau Gasol and his family have remained in close contact with Vanessa and Kobe Bryant's family, becoming godparents to the Bryant children.

READ MORE: Alaska Woman Murders Best Friend 

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Pau Gasol Reflects on Career With Kobe Bryant, Relationship With Kobe: "He'll Always Be With Me" - From Fanatics View