Manu Ginobili

At 46 years old, Manu Ginobili has this physical status:

Professional career

In the 1995–96 season, Ginóbili made his professional debut in the Andino Sport Club of La Rioja's Argentina basketball league.

In 1996, Ginóbili was sold to Estudiantes de Baha Blanca. He played with his hometown team until 1998.

Ginóbili returned to Europe to work with Basket Viola Calabria in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2000 with the Italian team Basket Viola Reggio Calabria. In 1999, he worked with Brent Scott, Brian Oliver, and Sydney Johnson to advance from the Italian 2nd Division to the Italian 1st Division.

Ginóbili made his initial draft in 1999, but the San Antonio Spurs picked him late in the second round with the 57th overall pick. However, he did not sign with the Spurs at this time. Rather, he returned to Italy to compete for Kinder Bologna, which he helped win the 2001 Italian League Championship, 2001 and 2002 Italian Cups, as well as the 2001 EuroLeague, where he was named the 2001 EuroLeague's Finals MVP. During this period, he was also named the Italian League MVP in 2000–01 and 2001–02, as well as three times in the Italian League's All-Star Game.

Ginóbili, a former NBA star and veteran NBA player, helped Argentina's national team win the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, and helped lead Argentina to a second-place finish.

Ginóbili was a backup for veteran guard Steve Smith for the 2002-03 NBA season. He was out early in the season with a knee injury and found it difficult to adapt to the NBA's style of play. As his health improved, Ginóbili won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in March and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team at the end of the season. Despite this, the Spurs won a 60–22 regular season victory, losing record. He only started in five games. The Spurs returned to action in the playoffs, eager to defend the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, at which time Ginóbili came to prominence.

Ginóbili made a key role in Gregg Popovich's rotation in the playoffs, playing in every game, in comparison to his regular season. The Spurs beat Phoenix and Los Angeles in those games, bringing them one more thing to worry about against the now heavily favored Spurs. He aided them in the Western Conference Finals and then the New Jersey Nets in the Finals, winning San Antonio's second championship. Ginóbili gained his first Olimpia de Oro ("Golden Olympia") as Argentina's sportsperson of the year, as well as Argentina's sportsperson of the year, and talked with Argentinae President Néstor Kirchner. In Ginóbili's honour, a gym in Bah's Blanca was also dedicated.

The Spurs introduced Ginóbili in the 2003-2004 season, starting him in half of the 77 regular season games in which he appeared. His stats have improved in all major categories, with him scoring 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. The Spurs lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Los Angeles Lakers again during the 2004 playoffs. The Spurs lost Game 6 and the series 4-2 after Derek Fisher's buzzer-beating jump shot in Game 5 where he scored a game-beating jump shot. Although Ginóbili did not start in a single playoff game as he did in 2003, his playoff results increased sharply, with 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.

Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs and appeared in every game during the 2004-05 season after having some initial issues with San Antonio over his salary. This was his best season as he was selected as a reserve by NBA coaches to the 2005 Western Conference All-Star team, marking his debut in the elite mid-season showcase. Ginóbili's play was instrumental in winning San Antonio's third championship. The Spurs first defeated Phoenix 4–1 in the Conference Finals before defeating the Detroit Pistons in a thrilling seven-game match series. Ginóbili had career-highs in his playoff numbers, most notably 20.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg, and had the third-most points total in the entire playoffs. The shooting guard was a candidate in the NBA Finals MVP Award voting, but teammate and captain Tim Duncan edged them out. The former was the second-leading scorer on the team during the 2004-05 season. During the season, he became the fourth person to win consecutive Olimpias de Oro, this time sharing the honor with soccer star Carlos Tevez.

Ginóbili's 2005–06 season was a season of injuries, with foot and ankle injuries that limited his ability to play. He played 65 games in the regular season but saw a decrease in major statistics as compared to the previous season. He returned to form during the playoffs, but the Spurs were unable to prevent the Spurs from being eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals.

The Spurs lacked energy from their reserves in the 2006–07 season. Ginóbili came off the bench for the bulk of the season's second half, assisting the Spurs in establishing their best record in that segment. Despite starting in only 36 of 75 games, Ginóbili's second-lowest number of starts since arriving in San Antonio, his second-lowest number since arriving in San Antonio. He was able to help the Spurs defeat the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz in the 2007 NBA Playoffs; the team later swept the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ginobili's third and San Antonio's fourth championship.

Ginóbili was to play a bigger part for the Spurs in the coming season, achieving career highs in points, rebounds, assists, and three-point field goal percentage. In a 93–88 victory over the Toronto Raptors, Ginóbili scored 34 points and 15 rebounds, becoming the first Spurs guard to have at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a game. Ginóbili had received the 2008 Sixth Man Award, receiving 123 out of 124 first place votes on Tuesday, according to the NBA. On a 460 shooting with averaging 31.1 minutes, Ginobili had a stat line of 19.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds. The Argentine was then called to the All-NBA Third Team just a few weeks after. In the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Suns 4-1 in the first round, while the Spurs were moved to the starting lineup against the New Orleans Hornets after the Spurs lost the first two road games. San Antonio eventually won in seven games, but the Argentine had another good run, leading the Spurs in points and assists per game (21.3 and 6.0 respectively). San Antonio lost in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals, and the NBA team then failed to win back-to-back NBA championships.

Ginóbili was out for the majority of the season, playing just 44 regular-season games and missing the 2009 NBA Playoffs entirely. San Antonio qualified for the playoffs as the third seed with a 54–28 record, but the Spurs were only considered a fringe candidate for the championship by an ageing support cast (Bowen, Michael Finley, and Kurt Thomas). The Spurs weren't able to prevent a 4–1 loss to Dallas, and the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

A bat descended on the AT&T Center on October 31, 2009, during a game against the Sacramento Kings, causing a halt in play. Ginóbili swatted the bat to the ground with his hand as the bat advanced. He carried the creature off the court, gaining the crowd's applause. The Spurs and Ginóbili signed a three-year, $39 million contract extension from the 2012–13 season on April 9, 2010.

Ginobili was regarded as the top player on his team in 2010-11, and he came eighth on the NBA MVP ballot after the season. In the last game of the regular season, Ginobili was hospitalized. Despite the injury, Manu's first-round match against the Memphis Grizzlies featured 20.6 points and 4.2 assists; however, the Spurs lost the series in six games. Ginóbili was selected as an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career, and he was also named to the All-NBA third team.

Ginóbili was instrumental in the Spurs' 2011–12 season, helping the Spurs go 50–16. The team qualified to the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated 4–2 by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ginóbili scored 34 points in Game Five of the series.

The Spurs advanced to the NBA Finals in 2012–13, where they met the Miami Heat. Ginóbili scored a season-high 24 points and helped his team take the 3–2 series lead in Game Five, defeating the Spurs. However, the Spurs went on to lose Games Six and Seven.

Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on a two-year contract on July 11, 2013. The Spurs had a league-best 62–20 record in 2013–14. In the annual poll for the Sixth Man of the Year, Ginóbili came third. Duncan, Parker, and Ginóbili won their 110th playoff victory, beating Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Lakers in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs advanced to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, where they met the Heat in the second year in a row. They dominated the series this season, winning 4–1 to win their fifth title; Ginóbili won his fourth championship as a Spur.

Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on July 20, 2015. Ginóbili played his 900th NBA game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 14, 2016. After suffering a testicular injury in the Spurs' victory over the New Orleans Pelicans the night before, he underwent surgery on February 4th. He was later admitted to the hospital for a month. After missing 12 games due to the injury, he returned to action on March 5th, scoring 22 points in 15 minutes against the Sacramento Kings.

Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on July 14, 2016. Ginóbili made the 15th second-round draft picks in NBA history on November 9, 2016 with 13,000 career points and at least 1,300 three-pointers.

San Antonio defeated Houston 107–107 in game 5 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals against James Harden's shot in the closing seconds, leading to a 107-107 victory. Ginóbili was the first player at the age of 39 to score 20 or more points off the bench in a playoff game against the Golden State Warriors in game 3 of the Western Conference Finals since the NBA began recording starts in the 1970–71 NBA season.

Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs on August 24, 2017. In January 2018, he became the first NBA player to play multiple 20-point games off the bench at age 40 or older. He was also the first player in his 40s to score 15-plus points in back-to-back games since Michael Jordan in 2002–03. On January 28th against the Sacramento Kings, Ginóbili, and Vince Carter each scored 21 and 15 points respectively; it was the first NBA game in history where two players over the age of 40 scored 15 points or more. Ginobili took the Spurs' career leader in steals on March 29, 2018, beating David Robinson (1,388) for the franchise record. Ginóbili played in his 217th playoff game against the Warriors in game 4, breaking a tie with Shaquille O'Neal for sixth in league history. Ginóbili also placed third in career 3-pointers in playoff history. In five games, the Spurs lost to the Warriors.

After Nick Collison of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Ginóbili announced his retirement from professional basketball on August 27, making him the second player to complete a career with just one team. The Spurs renamed Ginóbili's No. 28 on March 28, 2019. 20 jersey is right next to the No. 1st jersey, right next to the No. 1 jersey. Tim Duncan's 21 jerseys were traded in.

Career statistics

Basketball Reference: Basketball Reference.

Post-playing career

The San Antonio Spurs reported on September 24th, 2021, that Ginóbili had been named as the team's Special Advisor to basketball.

Ginóbili was the 12th player to have played for the San Antonio Spurs to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 10th. Ginóbili, on the other hand, is one of only four Spurs players to play exclusively for San Antonio for the entire NBA career, the others being fellow 2022 inductee George Karl, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan, a former teammate, addressed Ginóbili at the HoF awards. Ginóbili joins George Karl as one of only five players to play five or more seasons with the Spurs, with others being George Gervin, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson.

National team career

Ginóbili was a key player of Argentina's national basketball team, which is sometimes referred to as the Golden Generation.

Ginóbili competed for the junior Argentine national team in the 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place. Ginóbili was a member of Argentina's national basketball team and made his senior debut during the 1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens. He also competed at the 2002 FIBA World Championships, where he gained a silver medal. He made his best appearance as a member of the national team at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, when Argentina became the first team other than Team USA to win the gold medal in 16 years. On the first day of the Olympics, a game against Serbia and Montenegro was the pinnacle of the tournament. With 0.7 seconds remaining, he was his game-winning buzzer beater. In both scoring (19.3 points per game) and assists (3.3 assists per game), Ginóbili led the team in scoring (19.3 points per game) and assists (3.3 assists per game).

He competed with Argentina in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where his team finished in fourth place, finishing fourth. At the 2008 Summer Olympics' inaugural ceremony in Beijing, China, Ginóbili was Argentina's flag bearer. Argentina defeated Lithuania to win the bronze medal game at the Beijing Summer Olympics basketball tournament in 2008, although the shooting guard did not participate in the match after suffering an injury in the tournament's semifinals. Ginóbili revealed in April 2010 that he would not participate in the 2010 FIBA World Championship due to family reasons. He did not compete for the team at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, where Argentina barely came out of winning the bronze medal against Russia in the bronze medal game. He appeared in his last international games at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, where Argentina finished 8th overall.

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