Though drafted in 2007, Marc Gasol delayed his NBA rookie season to play a year in Spain.
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Gasol with the 48th pick in the second round of the 2007 NBA draft. Rather than immediately move to the NBA, he continued playing in Spain for Akasvayu Girona, the club where he had developed into a professional center.
Gasol’s additional season in Spain helped establish him as more than just Pau Gasol’s younger brother. In the 2007–08 season, he became a leading player in the Spanish Liga ACB and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. He then joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2008–09 NBA season after Memphis acquired his draft rights in the trade that sent Pau Gasol to the Lakers.
The answer is sometimes narrowed to “Girona,” which is the specific club and city involved. However, the question asks where he played a year, and “Spain” is the country-level answer. Gasol went on to become an NBA champion, Defensive Player of the Year, and longtime Memphis star.