"Funny thing about Pau Gasol.

He's won two championships, been on four All-Star teams and entrenched himself as the second-best player on the Lakers.

But opponents still like to rip him.

Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins called him "soft" a few weeks ago, and New York center-forward Amare Stoudemire followed up on it while making a promotional appearance at a shoe store.

"He's still soft," Stoudemire said in amateur video shot during an informal Q&A session. "He's a good player, but then he also has help down there with Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum and those 7-footers. He has a supportive cast."

Apparently Gasol didn't shed the soft label with his 19-point, 18-rebound effort in Game 7 of last season's NBA Finals against Boston.

There is a way to silence the criticism.

"Win another championship," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "Just go out and do it again. That keeps people quiet really quick."

Does Jackson think Gasol is soft?

"The perception of this tall lanky guy and how he plays the game may appear that way but he somehow has a knack of getting those 20 points and 10 rebounds night in and night out," he said. "He's a pretty amazing athlete and his tenacity is there. He's a tenacious guy and he wants to win. It's evident in the way we played since he's come to this team.""