Emanuel David "Manu"Ginóbili (English:/ˈmænuːdʒɪˈnoʊbli/MAN-oo jin-OH-blee,[3]Spanish:[ˈmanuʝiˈnoβili];[4] born 28 July 1977[5]) is an Argentine former professionalbasketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he played his first three seasons (1995–1998) in theLiga Nacional de Básquetbol, the top division ofArgentine basketball. Thereafter, he went to Italy for four years (1998–2002), playing forViola Reggio Calabria andVirtus Bologna. After being selected as the 57th overall pick in the1999 NBA draft, Ginóbili joined theSan Antonio Spurs (2002–2018), playing for them his entire 16-year career with theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He has also representedArgentina on the international stage for 16 years (1998–2016). Credited for popularizing theEuro step move in the NBA,[6][7] he is considered one of the greatest players of all time.[8] He is also regarded as one of the greatestLatin American players,sixth man, anddraft steals in NBA history.[9][10][11][21]
Coming from a family of professional basketball players, Ginóbili spent the early part of his career inArgentina andItaly, winning several individual and team honors. Ginóbili's stint with Italian club Kinder Bologna was particularly successful, as he won twoItalian League MVP awards, theEuroLeague Finals MVP, the2001 EuroLeague championship and theTriple Crown. After joining the San Antonio Spurs, Ginóbili became a four-time NBA champion (2003,2005,2007,2014) and was a member of the "Big Three" along with teammatesTim Duncan andTony Parker during the Spurs' era of success between 2002 and 2016. During their playing years together, the Spurs became a "model franchise" for other NBA teams.[22] In terms of individual accomplishments, Ginóbili was named anAll-Star in2005 and2011, and was selected twice for theAll-NBA Third Team. In the2007–08 season, he was named theNBA Sixth Man of the Year.
Among Ginóbili’s achievements include leading Argentina to agold medal at the2004 Summer Olympics, where he was namedFIBA Olympics Most Valuable Player. He also helped secure the historic feat of being the only team to ever eliminate theUnited States basketball team in Olympic history (as of 2025).[23] With this victory, Ginóbili became one of only two players (along with fellow Hall of FamerBill Bradley) to have won aEuroLeague title, anNBA championship, and anOlympic gold medal.[24]
Since September 2021, Ginóbili had been appointed asspecial advisor to basketball operations for the Spurs. In April 2022, he was announced as a first ballot inductee into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[25]
Emanuel David Ginóbili was born on 28 July 1977 inBahía Blanca, a city in the southwest region of theBuenos Aires Province,Argentina, to Jorge Hector Ginóbili and Raquel Maccari. Ginóbili comes from a family of basketball players: Jorge was acoach at Bahiense del Norte, a local basketball club, where Ginóbili learned to play the sport, whereas his older brothers, Leandro andSebastián, are both former professional players; Leonardo played seven years in theLiga Nacional de Básquetbol before retiring in 2003, and Sebastián has played in both the Argentine local league and in theSpanish 2nd-tier level,Liga Española de Baloncesto.[26][27] Ginóbili's idol growing up wasMichael Jordan.[28] Ginóbili is ofItalian descent, tracing his heritage to theMarche region, and hasdual citizenship for Argentina and Italy.[29][30]
In addition to his nativeSpanish, Ginóbili is fluent inEnglish andItalian. In his spare time, Ginóbili enjoys listening toLatin music, watching movies, and traveling.[5] He also enjoyscycling and playingtennis.[31][32] In 2004, he married fellow Argentine Marianela Oroño.[33] On 16 May 2010, his wife gave birth to twin boys, Dante and Nicola.[34] On 21 April 2014, she gave birth to their third son, Luca.[35][36]
In the immediate aftermath of the legalization ofsame-sex marriage in Argentina in 2010, Ginóbili expressed his support for the bill, and added that while supportive of same-sex marriage, Ginóbili did not "consider himself qualified" to speak aboutsame-sex adoption. He said that he would prefer to see a child being raised by two men or two women rather than to see that child in an orphanage.[37] In March 2020, Ginóbili also expressed support for gay people playing basketball and expressed hope that the issue of sexual orientation will no longer be important soon.[38] A documentary based on his life was directed byRodolfo Lamboglia.[39]
Ginóbili made his professional debut in theArgentine basketball league for the Andino Sport Club ofLa Rioja in the 1995–96 season.
Ginóbili was traded toEstudiantes de Bahía Blanca in 1996.[5] He played with his hometown team until 1998.
Ginóbili went to Europe to spend the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons with Italian teamBasket Viola Reggio Calabria.[5] In 1999, he teamed withBrent Scott,Brian Oliver andSydney Johnson to earnpromotion from theItalian 2nd Division to theItalian 1st Division.[40]
Ginóbili then entered the1999 NBA draft and theSan Antonio Spurs selected him late in the second round with the 57th overall pick.[41] However, Ginóbili did not sign with the Spurs at this point. Instead, he returned to Italy to play forKinder Bologna, whom he helped win the 2001 Italian League Championship, the 2001 and 2002Italian Cups, and the 2001EuroLeague. In the lattermost, Ginóbili was named the2001 EuroLeague'sFinals MVP.[5] He was also named theItalian League MVP in 2000–01 and 2001–02, and made theItalian League's All-Star Game three times during this period.[5]
While playing with theArgentina national team at the2002 FIBA World Championship inIndianapolis, Ginóbili made theAll-Tournament Team, alongside future NBA starYao Ming and established NBA starsDirk Nowitzki andPeja Stojaković,[42] and helped lead Argentina to a second-place finish.[5]
Ginóbili joined the Spurs for the2002–03 NBA season, where he played backup for veteran guardSteve Smith.[28] Ginóbili spent much of the early season injured, and found it hard to adjust to the NBA's style of play. As his injury improved, so did Ginóbili, winning theWestern Conference Rookie of the Month in March, and being named to the All-Rookie Second Team at the end of the season.[5] Still, he only started in five games as the Spurs chalked up a 60–22 regular season win–loss record.[43][44] The Spurs then enteredthe playoffs eager to upend the defending championsLos Angeles Lakers, at which point Ginóbili rose to prominence.
I toldTimmy, 'This guy is coming, and nobody in the U.S. knows how good he is.' And Timmy gave me that whole raised eyebrow thing he does.
In contrast to his regular season, Ginóbili became an integral part ofGregg Popovich's rotation in the playoffs, playing in every game.[5] The Spurs eliminated Phoenix and Los Angeles[46] and in those games, Ginóbili's scoring threat took opponents by surprise, giving them one more thing to cope with against the now highly favored Spurs. He helped guide them past theDallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals and then theNew Jersey Nets in theFinals,[46] securing San Antonio's second championship. After the win, Ginóbili won his firstOlimpia de Oro ("Golden Olympia") as Argentina's sportsperson of the year,[47] and met Argentine presidentNéstor Kirchner.[28] A gym in Bahía Blanca was also dedicated in Ginóbili's honor.[28]
In the2003–04 season, the Spurs began featuring Ginóbili more prominently, starting him in half of the 77 regular season games in which he played.[43] Ginóbili's statistics improved in all major categories, as he averaged 12.8points, 4.5rebounds, 3.8assists and 1.8steals per game.[43] Duringthe 2004 playoffs, the Spurs lost again to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. Following Game 5 whereDerek Fisher scored abuzzer-beatingjump shot,[48] the Spurs lost Game 6 and the series 4–2.[49] While Ginóbili did not start in a single playoff game as he did in 2003, his playoff statistics improved significantly, with 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.[43]
After some initial issues with San Antonio over his contract, Ginóbili re-signed on a 6-year, $52 million contract with the Spurs and started every game during the2004–05 season.[43] This was his best season yet as he was selected as a reserve by NBA coaches to the 2005 Western ConferenceAll-Star team, marking his debut in the elite mid-season showcase.[5] Duringthe playoffs, Ginóbili's play was pivotal to winning San Antonio's third championship. The Spurs first defeated Phoenix 4–1 in the Conference Finals,[50] before prevailing in a very defense-oriented seven-game series against theDetroit Pistons.[51] Ginóbili recorded career-highs in his playoff numbers, most notably 20.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg,[43] and had the third-highest point total in the entire playoffs.[5] In theNBA Finals MVP Award voting he came in second toTim Duncan.[52][28] The former finished the 2004–05 season as the second-leading scorer on the team.[5] During the season, Ginóbili became only the fourth person to win consecutiveOlimpias de Oro, this time sharing the award withsoccer starCarlos Tevez.[47]
The2005–06 season was an injury-plagued one for Ginóbili, who suffered foot and ankle injuries that hindered his ability to play. Ginóbili managed 65 games in the regular season, but saw a dip in major statistics as compared to the previous season.[43] Duringthe playoffs, he returned to form, but was unable to prevent the Spurs from being eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals.[53]
In the2006–07 season, the Spurs lacked energy from their reserves. Ginóbili came off the bench for most of the second half of the season, helping the Spurs attain the league's best record during that portion of the season. Ginóbili produced numbers closely identical to his successful 2004–05 campaign despite starting in only 36 of 75 games, his second-lowest number of starts since arriving at San Antonio.[43] The2007 NBA Playoffs saw him help the Spurs to defeat theDenver Nuggets,Phoenix Suns andUtah Jazz; the team then swept theCleveland Cavaliers for Ginobili's third and San Antonio's fourth championship.[54]
Ginóbili was to play an even bigger role for the Spurs the following season, reaching career high averages in points, rebounds, assists, and three-point field goal percentage.[43] On 11 February 2008, he scored 34 points and recorded 15 rebounds in a 93–88 win over theToronto Raptors, becoming the first guard in Spurs' history to have at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a game.[55][56] On 21 April 2008, the NBA announced that Ginóbili had won the 2008Sixth Man Award, winning 123 out of the 124 first place votes.[57][58] He had a statline of 19.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds on .460 shooting averaging 31.1 minutes. Only a couple of weeks later, the Argentine was also named to theAll-NBA Third Team.[59]In the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Suns 4–1 in the first round,[60] and Ginóbili was moved to the starting lineup in the second round against theNew Orleans Hornets after the Spurs lost the first two road games. San Antonio eventually prevailed in seven games, the Argentine played another strong series, leading the Spurs in points and assists per game (21.3 and 6.0 respectively).[61] However, San Antonio lost to arch-rivals Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals in five games, and once again failed to capture back-to-back NBA championships.[62]
The following season, Ginóbili was injured for most of the campaign, managing only 44 regular-season games and missing the2009 NBA Playoffs entirely. San Antonio qualified for the playoffs as the third seed with a 54–28 record,[63][64] but with an aging supporting cast (Bowen,Michael Finley andKurt Thomas were all in their late 30s), the Spurs were only considered fringe contenders for the championship.[64] As it turned out, the strong play of Duncan andTony Parker were not enough to help the Spurs avoid a 4–1 defeat by Dallas, and the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000.[65]
On 31 October 2009, in a game against theSacramento Kings, abat descended onto the court at theAT&T Center, causing a stoppage of play. As the bat flew past, Ginóbili swatted the bat to the ground with his hand. He then carried the creature off the court, earning the applause of the crowd.[66] On 9 April 2010, the Spurs and Ginóbili agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract extension through the 2012–13 season.[67]
In 2010–11, Ginobili was regarded as the key player on his team,[68][69][70] and he finished eighth on the NBA MVP ballot following the season.[68] Ginobili was injured in the last game of the regular season. Despite the injury, he averaged 20.6 points and 4.2 assists during the team's first-round series againstMemphis Grizzlies; however, the Spurs lost the series in six games. Ginóbili was named anNBA All-Star for the second time in his career and also was named to the All-NBA third team.[71]
In the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, Ginóbili helped the Spurs go 50–16. The team advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated 4–2 by theOklahoma City Thunder. In Game 5 of the series, Ginóbili scored 34 points.
In2012–13, the Spurs advanced to theNBA Finals, where they faced theMiami Heat. In the Spurs' Game 5 victory, Ginóbili scored a season-high 24 points and helped his team take a 3–2 series lead. However, the Spurs went on to lose Games 6 and 7.
On 11 July 2013, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on a two-year, $14 million deal.[72] In2013–14, the Spurs had a league-best 62–20 record. Ginóbili finished third in the voting for Sixth Man of the Year.[73] In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, the Big Three of Duncan, Parker, and Ginóbili notched their 110th career playoff win, matching the number of playoff wins attained byMagic Johnson,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar andMichael Cooper of theLos Angeles Lakers. The Spurs reached theNBA Finals again, where they faced the Heat for the second consecutive year. This time, they dominated the series, winning 4–1 to claim that franchise's fifth championship; Ginóbili won his fourth championship as a Spur.[74]
On 20 July 2015, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on a two-year, $5.7 million deal.[75] On 14 January 2016, in a win over theCleveland Cavaliers, he played his 900th NBA game, all with the Spurs.[76] On 4 February, Ginóbili underwent surgery after suffering a testicular injury in the Spurs' win over theNew Orleans Pelicans the previous night. He was subsequently sidelined for one month.[77] He returned to the action on 5 March after missing 12 games with the injury, scoring 22 points in 15 minutes against the Sacramento Kings.[78]
On 14 July 2016, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on a one-year, $14 million deal.[79] On 9 November, in a loss to the Houston Rockets, Ginóbili became the 15th second-rounder to reach 13,000 points and joinedRashard Lewis as the only second round draft picks in NBA history with 13,000 career points and at least 1,300 three-pointers.[80]
In Game 5 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals against Houston, Ginóbili blocked James Harden's shot in the closing seconds to help San Antonio to a 110–107 victory.[81] In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals againstGolden State Warriors, Ginóbili became the first player at the age of 39 to score 20 or more points off the bench in a playoff game since the NBA began recording starts in the1970–71 NBA season.[82]
On 24 August 2017, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on a two-year, $5 million deal.[83] In January 2018, he became the only player in NBA history to have multiple 20-point games off the bench at age 40 or older.[84] Ginóbili also became the first player in his 40s to score 15-plus points in back-to-back games sinceMichael Jordan in 2002–03.[84] On 28 January against theSacramento Kings, Ginóbili andVince Carter scored 21 and 15 points respectively; it was the first game in NBA history where two players over the age of 40 scored 15 points or more.[85] On 29 March, in a 103–99 victory over the Thunder, Ginobili became the Spurs' career leader in steals, passingDavid Robinson (1,388) for the franchise record.[86] In Game 4 of the Spurs' first round playoff series against the Warriors, Ginóbili played in his 217th playoff game, breaking a tie withShaquille O'Neal for sixth in league history. Ginóbili also passedReggie Miller for third in career 3-pointers in playoff history.[87] The Spurs lost to the Warriors in five games.
On 27 August 2018, Ginóbili announced his retirement from professional basketball,[88] making him the second player that season to complete a career with one team, afterNick Collison of theOklahoma City Thunder.[89] On 28 March 2019, the Spurs retired Ginóbili's No. 20 jersey.[90]
Source:Basketball Reference.[91]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03† | San Antonio | 69 | 5 | 20.7 | .438 | .345 | .737 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.4 | .2 | 7.6 |
| 2003–04 | San Antonio | 77 | 38 | 29.4 | .418 | .359 | .802 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 1.8 | .2 | 12.8 |
| 2004–05† | San Antonio | 74 | 74 | 29.6 | .471 | .376 | .803 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 1.6 | .4 | 16.0 |
| 2005–06 | San Antonio | 65 | 56 | 27.9 | .462 | .382 | .778 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 1.6 | .4 | 15.1 |
| 2006–07† | San Antonio | 75 | 36 | 27.5 | .464 | .396 | .860 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 1.5 | .4 | 16.5 |
| 2007–08 | San Antonio | 74 | 23 | 31.0 | .460 | .401 | .860 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 1.5 | .4 | 19.5 |
| 2008–09 | San Antonio | 44 | 7 | 26.8 | .454 | .330 | .884 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 1.5 | .4 | 15.5 |
| 2009–10 | San Antonio | 75 | 21 | 28.7 | .441 | .377 | .870 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 1.4 | .3 | 16.5 |
| 2010–11 | San Antonio | 80 | 79 | 30.3 | .433 | .349 | .871 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 1.5 | .4 | 17.4 |
| 2011–12 | San Antonio | 34 | 7 | 23.3 | .526 | .413 | .871 | 3.4 | 4.4 | .7 | .4 | 12.9 |
| 2012–13 | San Antonio | 60 | 0 | 23.2 | .425 | .353 | .796 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 1.3 | .2 | 11.8 |
| 2013–14† | San Antonio | 68 | 3 | 22.8 | .469 | .349 | .851 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 1.0 | .3 | 12.3 |
| 2014–15 | San Antonio | 70 | 0 | 22.7 | .426 | .345 | .721 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 1.0 | .3 | 10.5 |
| 2015–16 | San Antonio | 58 | 0 | 19.6 | .453 | .391 | .813 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .2 | 9.6 |
| 2016–17 | San Antonio | 69 | 0 | 18.7 | .390 | .392 | .804 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 1.2 | .2 | 7.5 |
| 2017–18 | San Antonio | 65 | 0 | 20.0 | .434 | .333 | .840 | 2.2 | 2.5 | .7 | .2 | 8.9 |
| Career | 1,057 | 349 | 25.4 | .447 | .369 | .827 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .3 | 13.3 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 0 | 21.0 | .385 | .000 | .833 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | .5 | 7.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003† | San Antonio | 24 | 0 | 27.5 | .386 | .384 | .757 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 1.7 | .4 | 9.4 |
| 2004 | San Antonio | 10 | 0 | 28.0 | .447 | .286 | .818 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .1 | 13.0 |
| 2005† | San Antonio | 23 | 15 | 33.6 | .507 | .438 | .795 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 1.2 | .3 | 20.8 |
| 2006 | San Antonio | 13 | 11 | 32.8 | .484 | .333 | .839 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | .5 | 18.4 |
| 2007† | San Antonio | 20 | 0 | 30.1 | .401 | .384 | .836 | 5.5 | 3.7 | 1.7 | .2 | 16.7 |
| 2008 | San Antonio | 17 | 6 | 32.9 | .422 | .373 | .896 | 3.8 | 3.9 | .6 | .3 | 17.8 |
| 2010 | San Antonio | 10 | 10 | 35.2 | .414 | .333 | .866 | 3.7 | 6.0 | 2.6 | .2 | 19.4 |
| 2011 | San Antonio | 5 | 5 | 34.8 | .443 | .321 | .780 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 2.6 | .6 | 20.6 |
| 2012 | San Antonio | 14 | 2 | 27.9 | .448 | .338 | .857 | 3.5 | 4.0 | .7 | .3 | 14.4 |
| 2013 | San Antonio | 21 | 3 | 26.7 | .399 | .302 | .738 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 1.1 | .3 | 11.5 |
| 2014† | San Antonio | 23 | 0 | 25.5 | .439 | .390 | .862 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 1.6 | .1 | 14.3 |
| 2015 | San Antonio | 7 | 0 | 18.7 | .349 | .364 | .783 | 3.4 | 4.6 | .6 | .9 | 8.0 |
| 2016 | San Antonio | 10 | 0 | 19.2 | .426 | .429 | .783 | 2.7 | 2.5 | .8 | .3 | 6.7 |
| 2017 | San Antonio | 16 | 1 | 17.8 | .412 | .225 | .739 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 6.6 |
| 2018 | San Antonio | 5 | 0 | 21.4 | .405 | .333 | .818 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 1.4 | .2 | 9.0 |
| Career | 218 | 53 | 27.9 | .433 | .358 | .817 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .3 | 14.0 | |
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance index rating |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01† | Kinder Bologna | 22 | 20 | 29.7 | .445 | .291 | .778 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 2.9 | .3 | 15.2 | 15.9 |
| 2001–02 | Kinder Bologna | 22 | 22 | 28.4 | .450 | .340 | .778 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.5* | .3 | 15.9 | 17.1 |
| Career | 44 | 42 | 29.1 | .448 | .315 | .778 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 2.7 | .3 | 15.5 | 16.5 | |
On 24 September 2021, theSan Antonio Spurs announced that they had appointed Ginóbili asspecial advisor to basketball operations.[92]
On 10 September 2022, Ginóbili became the 12th player to have played for the San Antonio Spurs franchise to be inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[93][94] However, he is one of only four Spurs players to be inducted who played exclusively for San Antonio for their entire NBA career the others being fellow 2022 inducteeGeorge Karl,David Robinson andTim Duncan. Former teammate Tim Duncan presented Ginóbili at the ceremony. Ginóbili joins fellow 2022 inductee George Karl as being one of only five players of the twelve elected to the Hall of Fame to play five or more seasons with the Spurs, the others beingGeorge Gervin, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson.[95]
Ginóbili was a core member of a hugely successfulArgentina national basketball team, which is sometimes referred to as theGolden Generation.
Ginóbili played with the junior Argentina national team at the 1997FIBA Under-21 World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place.[96]
Ginóbili was a member of the seniorArgentina national basketball team, and made his senior debut during the1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens.[5] He also played at the2002 FIBA World Championship, where he won a silver medal. Ginóbili's best accomplishment as a member of the national team came at the2004 Athens Summer Olympics when he led Argentina to a gold medal as they became the first team other thanTeam USA to emerge as the competition's winner in 16 years. The highlight of the tournament was his game-winningbuzzer beater with 0.7 seconds remaining, on the opening day of the Olympics, in a game versusSerbia and Montenegro.[97] Ginóbili led the team in both scoring (19.3 points per game) and assists (3.3 assists per game).[98]
Ginóbili played with Argentina at the2006 FIBA World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place. Ginóbili was theflag bearer for Argentina at the opening ceremony of the2008 Summer Olympics, which was held in Beijing, China. At the2008 Beijing Summer Olympics basketball tournament, Argentina defeatedLithuania to win the bronze medal game, although the shooting guard did not play in that match, after sustaining an injury in the tournament's semifinals.[99] In April 2010, Ginóbili announced that he would not participate in the2010 FIBA World Championship, due to family reasons.[100] However, he competed for the team at the2012 London Summer Olympics, where Argentina narrowly missed out on winning the bronze medal, in the bronze medal game versusRussia.[101] Ginóbili played his last international games at the2016 Rio Summer Olympics, where Argentina finished in 8th place.
Ginóbili was listed as 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) in shoes, weighed 205 lb (93 kg), and played left-handed. He established himself as a starshooting guard[5] and became known as one of the greatestsixth men in NBA history.[102][103][104] Ginóbili was a relatively late bloomer, entering the NBA at age 25 in a period whenentering the NBA as a teenager was very common. He was known as a reliable and versatile backcourt player.[28]
Apart from his up-tempo and aggressive style, Ginóbili was known for his clutch play.[27][105] Ginóbili's go-to move was either a three-pointer or a fierce drive to the basket. He often lowered his head when driving to the basket to collapse defenses and create shots or passes to his teammates. Ginobili popularized theEuro step in the NBA, although he was not the first to use the move in the league.[106]
Ginobili was known as a team player. He accepted the Spurs coaches' decision to bring him off the bench for most of his career.[45] He was also known for his difficult-to-defend passes, including the no-look pass.[45] Ginobili was also willing to drawcharges on defense.[27] In 2007, he was listed byESPN writer Thomas Neumann at No. 6 on the list of greatestfloppers in NBA history.[107] Five years later, Ian Thomsen, aSports Illustrated columnist, grouped Ginóbili with fellow European league playersAnderson Varejão andVlade Divac as the players who "made [flopping] famous", by exaggerating contact on the court in a manner analogous todiving in soccer games.[108]
He has a willingness to do what it takes to win, and to do it at the highest possible level of intensity, every single minute he steps on the court.
Having traversed the major basketball continents during his career, Ginóbili is one of the few players who enjoyed success under both the physical, one-on-one play of the NBA and the more technical, jump-shooting rule set ofFIBA. He is one of only two players in basketball history (along withBill Bradley) to win theEuroLeague,[109] anOlympic gold medal, and an NBA championship ring.[41][110] Ginóbili is also the first non-U.S. player to win both the NBA championship ring and the Olympic gold medal, and the secondLatin American to be selected to play in an NBA All-Star game (afterPanama'sRolando Blackman).[110] The Spurs made the NBA playoffs in each of his 16 NBA seasons.[111]
In 2007, ESPN sportswriterJohn Hollinger ranked Ginóbili as the sixth-best international player then active in the NBA, describing Ginobili as "one of the great draft heists of all time" and attributing the trend of NBA teams drafting developing European players to the success of the Argentine.[29] The following year, Ginóbili was named by ESPN as one of the best EuroLeague players to have graced the NBA.[112]
He was the first player to win the Euroleague, Olympics and NBA titles - something that only Manu Ginobili has managed to achieve after him.
The ugly trend of faking physical contact began in soccer, a sport in which gamesmanship has given way to players writhing in false agony around the world. Soccer has been unable to fix its problem, but now the NBA will have an opportunity to deter players from trying to simulate violent contact in ways made famous by Vlade Divac, Manu Ginobili and Anderson Varejão.
Links to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
.jpg)
