San Antonio Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili has made his potential farewell season a fairly memorable one, having found the fountain of youth, even at 40 years old, impressing both teammates and opponents with his play.
The Argentinian shooting guard pulled back the clock once again on Monday, dropping 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists coming off the bench against the Sacramento Kings, helping the Spurs to a 98-85 win in 27 minutes of play.
Head coach Gregg Popovich praised his bench unit following the game.
“Bryn [Forbes] was great off the bench,” said Popovich, according to Paul Garcia of ProjectSpurs.com. “Manu was wonderful. They deserve a lot of credit.”
Swingman Rudy Gay, also coming off the bench with 18 points of his own, went one step further in the praise.
“I need to get a blood transfusion with his blood,” joked Gay, who came into this season bouncing back from a season-ending Achilles injury. “He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever played with.”
His other teammate, LaMarcus Aldridge, credited Ginobili with breaking this game open.
“He's 49 years old, still making guys better,” Aldridge told reporters after the game.
Ginobili was thought to have left it all on the court after the sour end to the 2016-17 season, but upon thinking it over the summer, decided to come back for another year with the Spurs, his 16th with the team.
The 40-year-old is coming off a perfect game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, connecting on all seven of his attempts, including 3-of-3 from downtown.
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