49 Facts About Manu Ginobili

1.

Emanuel David Ginobili Maccari is an Argentine former professional basketball player.

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2.

Manu Ginobili is often credited for popularizing the Euro step in the NBA.

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3.

Since September 2021, Manu Ginobili had been appointed as special advisor to Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs.

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4.

Manu Ginobili spent the early part of his career in Argentina and Italy, winning several individual and team honors.

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5.

Manu Ginobili announced his retirement from the NBA in August 2018.

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6.

Manu Ginobili speaks Italian and English fluently in addition to his native Spanish.

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7.

Manu Ginobili 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.

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8.

Manu Ginobili then entered the 1999 NBA draft and the San Antonio Spurs selected him late in the second round with the 57th overall pick.

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9.

Manu Ginobili spent much of the early season injured, and found it hard to adjust to the NBA's style of play.

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10.

In contrast to his regular season, Manu Ginobili became an integral part of Gregg Popovich's rotation in the playoffs, playing in every game.

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11.

Manu Ginobili helped guide them past the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals and then the New Jersey Nets in the Finals, securing San Antonio's second championship.

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12.

Manu Ginobili's statistics improved in all major categories, as he averaged 12.

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13.

Manu Ginobili recorded career-highs in his playoff numbers, most notably 20.

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14.

Manu Ginobili managed 65 games in the regular season, but saw a dip in major statistics as compared to the previous season.

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15.

Manu Ginobili 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.

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16.

Manu Ginobili 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.

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17.

On 21 April 2008, the NBA announced that Manu Ginobili had won the 2008 Sixth Man Award, winning 123 out of the 124 first place votes.

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18.

Manu Ginobili then carried the creature off the court, earning the applause of the crowd.

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19.

Manu Ginobili was injured in the last game of the regular season.

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20.

Manu Ginobili was named an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career and was named to the All-NBA third team.

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21.

Manu Ginobili finished third in the voting for Sixth Man of the Year.

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22.

In game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, the Big Three of Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili notched their 110th career playoff win, matching the number of playoff wins attained by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Lakers.

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23.

On 9 November 2016, in a loss to the Houston Rockets, Manu Ginobili became the 15th second-rounder to reach 13,000 points and joined Rashard Lewis as the only second round draft picks in NBA history with 13,000 career points and at least 1,300 three-pointers.

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24.

In game 4 of the Spurs' first round playoff series against the Warriors, Manu Ginobili played in his 217th playoff game, breaking a tie with Shaquille O'Neal for sixth in league history.

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25.

Manu Ginobili passed Reggie Miller for third in career 3-pointers in playoff history.

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26.

On 27 August 2018, Manu Ginobili announced his retirement from professional basketball, making him the second player that season to complete a career with one team, after Nick Collison of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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27.

Manu Ginobili however 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 inductee George Karl, David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

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28.

Manu Ginobili 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 being George Gervin, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson.

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29.

Manu Ginobili was a core member of a hugely successful Argentine national basketball team, which is sometimes referred to as the Golden Generation.

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30.

Manu Ginobili played with the junior Argentine national team at the 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place.

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31.

Manu Ginobili was a member of the senior Argentine national basketball team, and made his senior debut during the 1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens.

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32.

Manu Ginobili played at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, where he won a silver medal.

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33.

Manu Ginobili played with Argentina at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place.

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34.

Manu Ginobili was the flag bearer for Argentina at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics, which was held in Beijing, China.

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35.

At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics basketball tournament, Manu Ginobili's Argentina defeated Lithuania 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.

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36.

Manu Ginobili did however compete for the team at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, where Argentina narrowly missed out on winning the bronze medal, in the bronze medal game versus Russia.

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37.

Manu Ginobili played his last international games at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, where Argentina finished in 8th place.

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38.

Manu Ginobili established himself as a star shooting guard and became known as one of the greatest sixth men in NBA history.

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39.

Manu Ginobili was a relatively late bloomer, entering the NBA at age 25 in a period when entering the NBA as a teenager was very common.

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40.

Manu Ginobili was known as a reliable and versatile backcourt player.

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41.

Manu Ginobili's go-to move was either a 3-pointer or a fierce drive to the basket.

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42.

Manu Ginobili often lowered his head when driving to the basket to collapse defenses and create shots or passes to his teammates.

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43.

Manu Ginobili popularized the Euro step in the NBA, although he was not the first to use the move in the league.

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44.

Manu Ginobili accepted the Spurs coaches' decision to bring him off the bench for most of his career.

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45.

Manu Ginobili was known for his difficult-to-defend passes, including the no-look pass.

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46.

Manu Ginobili 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.

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47.

Manu Ginobili is one of only two players in basketball history to win the EuroLeague, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA championship ring.

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48.

Manu Ginobili is the first non-US player to win both the NBA championship ring and the Olympic gold medal, and the second Latin American to be selected to play in an NBA All-Star game.

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49.

The following year, Manu Ginobili was named by ESPN as one of the best EuroLeague players to have graced the NBA.

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