Manu Ginobli is excited. His San Antonio Spurs, for whom he played for 16 seasons and 1,057 games, have won themselves the number one draft pick, which they’ll use to select Victor Wembanyama, the hottest prospect since, well, maybe ever.

Following the NBA Draft Lottery, Ginobli sent out a short and sweet tweet to highlight his excitement.

 

Ginobli, of course, is one of the most decorated Spurs in history, having played in four of their five championships – 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. Alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, he played a pivotal role in the most successful period in the franchise’s history.

Since their retirement, however, things haven’t been so rosy for the Spurs. The season after Ginobli’s career ended, they won 48 games before being knocked out in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Denver Nuggets, but they haven’t made it back to the postseason since.

For the first three of those seasons, they were stuck in the NBA’s wasteland just outside of the playoffs, finishing 11th, 10th and 10th in the West three successive seasons. This year, however, they dropped right back to 15th with just 22 wins, and though I – of course – would never advocate tanking, it’s paid dividends.

Victor Wembanyama will join the likes of Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell in San Antonio, and will of course be under the guidance of the same man who led Manu Ginobli and co to all those championships in Gregg Popovich. What better coach to get the most out of Wembanyama. No wonder Ginobli is excited.