CHICAGO (FIBA Basketball World Cup/EuroBasket) - Life as members of the Chicago Bulls could hardly have gone any better this season for Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic.

For Gasol, who launched his career with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001 before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers seven and a half years later and helping them capture titles in 2009 and 2010, Chicago has been a breath of fresh air after a losing season in L.A.

The MVP of the 2006 FIBA Basketball World Cup has shown he remains one of the best players in the sport.

"I couldn't be any happier with the season that I have been having," Gasol said.

"My first season with the Bulls is going perfectly well so far."

Mirotic, after a couple of terrific campaigns with Real Madrid, has proved as a rookie that he not only belongs in the NBA but could one day soon be one of its leading players.

"To be honest, I always knew that I had the potential to have a great rookie season," he said.

"But I didn't expect to be that competitive at the end of the regular season after playing so many games."

Gasol is the consummate professional.

His work on and off the court puts him and the teams that he plays for in a very good light.

A UNICEF Ambassador, the 34-year-old devotes a lot of time to helping others.

As a player, he never shirks his responsibilities, including with the media.

He was just named the recipient of the 2014-15 Magic Johnson Award by the Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA), an honor that "annually recognizes the player who best combines excellence on the basketball court with cooperation and dignity in dealing with the media and the public," according to a statement by the PBWA.

"I try to help other people do their jobs well," Gasol said.

"I understand my position and that this is a part of our jobs.

"So I always try to be kind and polite, even when I'm not feeling great or I might be upset because of the loss, but I understand that it's still part of my job to be one of the team's leaders and role models to kind of stand up and share my thoughts when I need."

Mirotic and Gasol are Europeans excelling in the toughest league in the world.

Both hail from Spain, although Mirotic moved to the country as a youngster from his native Montenegro.

It has been very important for me to be alongside Pau for my rookie season. - Mirotic

Mirotic, 24, admits that the presence of the veteran Gasol has made his transition to the NBA easier.

"It is my first year here and he's been helping me a lot in a lot of aspects," Mirotic said.

"He went through the same kind of experience during his rookie season and he is giving me good advice on how to keep being focused and working hard."

Gasol has been more than willing to help Mirotic find his feet in the NBA.

"I am trying to help him and give him some advice, but he is also a mature player so he knows what he has to do to stay on the court for a lot of minutes every night," Gasol said.

Nikola has been playing very well in the last couple of months and has shown that he can be a very solid NBA player. - Gasol

"He is confident and a hard worker, so he is doing his best every day to make it here."

Mirotic has discovered the NBA playoffs are very different to the regular season.

The intensity level goes up.

In Monday's triumph over Milwaukee, which gave the Bulls a 2-0 lead in the playoff series, Mirotic got tangled up with Zaza Pachulia in the fourth quarter and injured his left knee and left quad.

He has been ruled out of Game 3.

As for Spain's national team, which will play this summer at EuroBasket 2015 and attempt to bounce back from last year's Quarter-Final elimination at the FIBA Basketball World Cup on home soil, neither player knows yet if he will play.

Gasol was Spain's best player at Spain 2014.

Spain will play in Group B, in Berlin, against Serbia, Turkey, Iceland, Italy and Germany.

The two teams that reach the EuroBasket 2015 Final in France will clinch places in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

"I am not thinking about it at the moment," Gasol said.

"I am currently focused on being healthy and helping my team have a good campaign at the playoffs.

"I need to see how I feel after the season and I will take a decision once the NBA season is over."

Mirotic, who has yet to play for Spain's senior team but was a star performer for the U20 side, said: "I want to finish my rookie season the best way I can and I currently don't have much time to think about what will happen this summer.

"I am now only focused on the playoffs and I will take a decision when the season is done."

What Gasol does know is that Spain will be hungry.

"The players who will play with the national team this summer will be very ambitious and try to write another beautiful page in Spain's basketball history," he said.

"[But] Like Spain, every other top team will start the competition with the goal of winning the title."

FIBA