San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili has only been retired a day, but there's already a billboard up in San Antonio thanking the future Hall of Famer for his 16 years of contributions.
Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News captured the billboard off I-410:
Billboard thanking Manu off 410 West… #Spurs pic.twitter.com/x4kKRlkqFI
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) August 28, 2018
Ginobili decided to call it quits Monday afternoon after an illustrious career that spanned both the NBA and international hoops. The 41-year-old began his career way back in 1995 in Argentina, and he played in his native country and then Italy before finally joining the Spurs in 2002, though he was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft.
Ginobili won his first of four NBA championships as a rookie in 2003. The following year, Ginobili and Argentina shocked the world by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, marking the first time in 16 years Team USA didn't take home gold. He's one of just two players in basketball history to win an NBA title, EuroLeague title and Olympic gold medal.
From there, Ginobili continued to play a key role for the Spurs for the rest of his career, mostly as a dynamic bench player in support of longtime stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Ginobili won Sixth Man of the Year in 2008 and won championships in 2005, 2008 and 2014. He was selected to two All-Star Games and was named to the All-NBA third team twice.
For his career, Ginobili averaged 13.3 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game during the regular season. Those numbers jumped to 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 27.9 minutes per game in the playoffs.
While those numbers aren't mind-blowing, Ginobili is a sure-fire Hall of Famer for a variety of reasons, and Spurs fans will never forget his contributions.
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