Manu Ginobili is set to receive the highest honor any team can bestow on one of its former players. On Thursday, the Argentinian-born baller will see his jersey lifted to the rafters inside the AT&T Center. In light of this honor, former San Antonio Spurs teammate Tony Parker is sharing what it was like to play alongside one of the all-time greats.
Via Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News:
“It was an honor to get to play with him,” said Tony Parker, one of the luminaries who will be on hand to salute his former teammate. “A lot of the stuff he did, you can’t teach. It was just pure talent and instinct.”
The Spurs selected Ginobili with the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. However, he ultimately chose to play with Kinder Bologna of the EuroLeague, and they won the 2001 Italian League Championship, the 2001 and 2002 Italian Cups, and the 2001 EuroLeague.
Ginobili joined the Spurs for the 2002-03 season. He didn't start right away, though, as that job was already taken by veteran Steve Smith. Ginobili spent much of his first season with San Antonio on the bench due to injury, but he managed to recover in a big way, winning Rookie of the Month in March. Furthermore, he was named to the NBA's All-Rookie second team at the end of that campaign.
Under head coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs became a model of consistency. In fact, with Ginobili, Parker and Tim Duncan on the roster, the team went on to win four NBA championships (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014):
“Just as much as he was our energy and excitement on the floor, he was a whole lot of the same off the floor,” Duncan said in a recent tribute video to Ginobili.
“At some point, he broke his knob,” Duncan added, referring to Ginobili's intensity. “It's just stuck on 10. He's like that with everything.”
📹Here’s the Tim Duncan tribute to Manu Ginobili (via @spurs) Some great insight into Manu on and off the court. Ginobili’s jersey will be retired Thursday night. #NBA #GraciasManu #KSATsports #KSATnews pic.twitter.com/eHsf06dqjK
— RJ Marquez (@KSATRJ) March 27, 2019
If anyone is deserving of a jersey retirement ceremony, it's Ginobili. Join us in congratulating him for an outstanding career.
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