As we look back on the illustrious career of San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili, new factoids pop up that continue to show just how impressive Ginobili was over a long and successful basketball career.
In fact, Ginobili was successful in all basketball tournaments in his life, as pointed out by HoopsHype.
Only two players have won the Euroleague, NBA and Olympic titles.
Manu Ginobili was one of them.
(A few more things you may not know about him here). pic.twitter.com/DuB6Drb3mI
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) August 27, 2018
The other player is Bill Bradley. Bradley won Olympic gold in 1964, a EuroLeague title in 1966, and NBA titles in 1970 and 1973 with the New York Knicks.
It is well-documented that Ginobili won four titles with the San Antonio Spurs over a 16-year NBA career. Ginobili, along with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and led by coach Gregg Popovich, dominated the league for around a decade and went four out of five in Finals appearances with Ginobili on the team, with the only loss coming to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat in 2012-13.
Ginobili wasn't just successful in the NBA. He also had a legendary Olympic run that ended with his country capturing a gold medal in Athens in 2004.
On the first day of the Olympics, Ginobili's Argentina faced off with Serbia and Montenegro. With his team down one, Ginobili came to the rescue and hit a difficult buzzer-beater, starting the journey that would end the streak of Team USA dominance in Olympic basketball.
Before he came to the NBA, a young and not yet hairless Ginobili was tearing it up in Argentina and Italy. His passion for Euro basketball was so strong that even after he was drafted by the Spurs, he returned to the Italian League. This decision paid off and he ended up winning both the Italian League MVP and EuroLeague Finals MVP and championship before leaving to continue his dominance in the States.
Clearly, Ginobili is the definition of a champion, having won at the highest level over and over again. He will always be a legend not just in the United States, but worldwide.
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