Facing Tuesday's 1 1/2-hour surgery to repair the gruesome lower-leg injury that fractured his fibula and spun his left foot to an inhuman angle, Jorge Garbajosa was asked for his preference of anaesthesia. There were, the story goes, two options: the full-body knockout or a needle in the lower back to numb everything below the waist.
"Garbo says to the doctor, `Just give me the back shot because I want to see what you're doing,'" said Maurizio Gherardini, the Raptors assistant general manager, flashing a broad smile as he told the tale. "That's the kind of guy he is."