The Spurs’ dynasty of five championships might be over but they’re far from done getting their flowers. It doesn’t stop at the steward of their run, Gregg Popovich, becoming the NBA’s all-time wins leader in early March.
The latest news concerns one of the more unique championship pillars ever to grace a court in any basketball sense: Manu Ginóbili.
A gifted and deft scorer for 16 years in San Antonio, it sometimes felt like Ginóbili wasn’t appreciated the way he should be. Those legendary Spurs teams that managed to beat Shaq, Kobe, and LeBron in so many big games never do so if they don’t have the Argentine on their side.
The folks with the Basketball Hall of Fame agree.
That’s why Ginóbili is being inducted on the first ballot.
Goosebumps. I have goosebumps
San Antonio Spurs icon Manu Ginobili will be a first-ballot induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame @Hoophall Class of 2022, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 31, 2022
The Ginóbili announcement comes on the heels of the reveal of the entire Class of 2022, which also includes:
- Swin Cash — four-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist
- Tim Hardaway — five-time NBA All-Star
- Bob Huggins — two-time NCAA Coach of the Year
- George Karl — sixth all-time in NBA wins
With all due respect to these legends, it’s Ginóbili who is the unquestioned headliner.
Now at the age of 44 and since retired, Ginóbili entered the NBA game a little late. He wasn’t breaking the hearts of the Lakers in a black jersey until he was 22 — over three years after the Spurs drafted him. Instead of jumping to the United States right away, the Argentine decided to plug away a little longer elsewhere and play in Italy.
Oh and at the same time: His beloved Virtus Bologna won the EuroLeague in 2001 where he was crowned EuroLeague Finals MVP.
When Ginóbili finally decided to make the leap and join Tim Duncan and Popovich in 2002, it was all downhill from there. Not only was he an integral part of four championship teams, he was a player of unquestioned versatility:
- Two-time All-Star
- Two-time All-NBA Third Team
- Sixth Man of the Year (2008)
Sure, it might not seem like the most impressive ledger at first. But when you remember that Ginóbili most often came off the bench for the Spurs to light other teams up, you reconsider. He was a one-of-a-kind microwave scorer and the heart and soul of one of the NBA’s best-ever teams.
Ginóbili will enter the Hall of Fame in the conversation for the best international NBA player ever. Which, you won’t hear any argument for me. As a proud Argentine, he helped grow the league and the game on a worldwide scale, and then some. I’d even go as far as to say that his status as an international player comes before his esteemed reputation as a cog in the Spurs machine.
Manu Ginóbili is an all-time basketball great. It’s really heartening to see the powers that be give him, among all people, the flowers he truly deserves.
