The decision to come back to don the black-and-white of the San Antonio Spurs was no easy task for Manu Ginobili, having told the organization and the media that he would take time to weigh his options and discuss the best course for his career during a vacation with his family.
Having chosen to return for one last hurrah with the only team he's ever player for, Ginobili opened up about how his coach, Gregg Popovich played a large role on his return.
“He told me that he wanted me to continue and he needed me on the team,” Ginobili wrote in the Argentinian publication La Nacion on Thursday via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “If he did not want me, it would have been easier for me.”
The soon-to-be 40-year-old is one of the few breeds that can last in The Association for so many years, going into his 16th season with the team.
“I accepted because it is a great honor to be with such a franchise, at 40 years old, feeling important, with people who tell me that they love me and that I am still important to the team,” Ginobili wrote. “Everything I had in mind if I retired, I can postpone for another time. On the other hand, if I retired and took a year (off), I would not be able to compete again at 41.”
Ginobili mentioned this particular decision was unlike others which he's had to make before.
“It was much slower to make the determination than the other times because I had more doubts,” Ginobili wrote. “I wanted to … see how I felt, what was happening to me and how many questions came up.”
Perhaps the greatest signs that the Argentinian wizard still has some fuel in the tank were his last four games against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, when he played more vital minutes to aid a Kawhi Leonard-less Spurs team in hopes to make a series of it.
Ginobili dropped 17, 21, and 15 points in Games 1, 3, and 4, respectively — showing the crowd and his coach that he can still be the impact player he's been before during championship seasons.
Yet the 6-foot-6 whirling dervish remains as humble as he's always been.
“If 10 years ago someone was telling me, ‘You’re going to play until 40,’” Ginobili wrote. “I would have said he was crazy.”
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