Manu Ginobili

Manu Ginóbili is a professional basketball player from Argentina. He played in the National Basketball Association for the San Antonio Spurs. He also spent time playing in Buenos Aires and Italy.

He is a four-time NBA Champion and was named an NBA All-Star twice. In 2008, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. When he retired, the Spurs also retired jersey number 20 in his honor.

Player Profile and Personal Life

Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari was born on July 28, 1977 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. He stands 198 cm tall and his weight was last listed at 93 kg. He was left-handed and played shooting guard.

He comes from a family of professional basketball players.

Early Career

His early professional career was spent with Andino. He played for the team from 1995 to 1996 before signing with Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca, a basketball club based in Buenos Aires.

In 1998, he moved to play for the Italian team - Viola Reggio Calabria and then for Virtus Bologna from 2000 to 2002. In his time in Italy, he was drafted into the NBA in 1999 but did not sign with the San Antonio Spurs until 2002.

He received a number of accolades while playing in Europe. He helped his team win the 2002 Italian Cup and he was also named the 2002 Italian Cup MVP. Prior to that, he also helped his team become EuroLeague Champions.

NBA Career

He was a latecomer to the NBA, not joining until 2002 when he was 25.

In 2003, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. That year, he also helped lead the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Championships. He would help them win again in 2005, 2007, and 2014.

In 2005, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time. He would be named an All-Star again in 2011. In 2008, Ginóbili was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

In 2005-06, Ginobili had to deal with foot and ankle injuries that curbed his playing style and ability.

Despite this, he played 65 games although his performance dipped drastically. Scoring just 15.1 points per game, Ginobili returned to his best in the Playoffs however the Spurs were eliminated in the conference semis by the Dallas Mavericks.

Ginobili began 2006-07 off the bench and at a time when the Spurs were looking for some ray of hope from the bench players, Ginobili was the only light at the end of a long and dark tunnel.

Although he started just 36 of his 75 games, his stats were almost as good as his best years with the Spurs. He had 16.5 points per game with 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and despite scoring 18.4 points per game in the playoffs, on the way to a third NBA championship title.

In 2007-08, Ginobili began with greater fervor and his performance shone through as he set career highs with 19.5 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 4.5 assists per game and.4 blocks per game. He had a 40.1% 3-point percentage with 31.0 minutes per game, both career highs.

Ginobili began 2008-09 on the injury list and that was the trend for most of the season. Playing just 44 regular season games, Ginobili missed the entire playoffs as the Spurs lost out in the first round despite a brave effort on the part of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

During the 2011-2012 Season, Ginobili’s shooting efforts helped the Spurs reach the Western Conference Finals but the Oklahoma City Thunder shut them down. They faced Miami Heat in the 2012-2013 NBA Finals where Ginobili scored a season-high 24 points but they lost the series.

Ginobili recorded his 110th career game in the 2013-2014 playoffs, along with Duncan and Parker.

They faced Miami again in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year and won. He had to undergo surgery for a testicular injury and was unable to play for a month.

In 2016, Ginobili became the 15th second-rounder to reach 13,000 points. During the 2017 Western Conference Finals, he became the first player at 39 years old to score 20 or more points off the bench during a playoff game.

In 2018, Ginobili went on to become the first player in his 40s to score more than 15 points in consecutive games since Michael Jordan in 2002-2003.

Within the same year, he became the franchise’s record-holder for steals. For another record in league history, Ginobili played his 217th playoff game in game 4 of the 2018 playoff series against the Golden State Warriors. He retired on August 27, 2018.

Career Highlights

• 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014 - NBA champion
• 2005, 2011 - NBA All-Star
• 2008, 2011 - All-NBA Third Team
• 2008 - NBA Sixth Man of the Year
• 2003 - NBA All-Rookie Second Team

• No. 20 retired by the San Antonio Spurs
• Argentina's No. 5 retired by the CABB

• 2001 - EuroLeague champion
• 2001 - EuroLeague Finals MVP
• 2001, 2002 - EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer
• 2002 - All-EuroLeague First Team
• 2001 - Italian League champion
• 2001, 2002 - Italian Cup winner
• 2001, 2002 - Italian League MVP
• 2002 - Italian Cup MVP
• 2002 - Italian League steals leader
• 1999, 2000, 2001 - Italian League All-Star
• 2001 - Italian League All-Star Game Dunk Contest Champion
• 2001 - FIBA AmeriCup MVP
• 2004 - FIBA 2004 Summer Olympics MVP
• 2003, 2004 - Olimpia de Oro
• 2010 - Diamond Konex Award
• 2008 - 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors

• Basketball Hall of Fame as player, 2022

NBA Career Statistics

• Points - 14,043 (13.3 ppg)
• Rebounds - 3,697 (3.5 rpg)
• Assists - 4,001 (3.8 apg)

Medal Record, Men's basketball, Representing Argentina

• Gold - 2004 Summer Olympics Athens
• Bronze - 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing
• Silver - 2002 FIBA World Cup Indianapolis
• Bronze - 2004 FIBA Diamond Ball Belgrade
• Gold - 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Nanjing
• Bronze - 1999 FIBA AmeriCup San Juan
• Gold - 2001 FIBA AmeriCup Neuquén
• Silver - 2003 FIBA AmeriCup San Juan
• Gold - 2011 FIBA AmeriCup Mar del Plata
• Silver - 1999 FIBA South American Championship Bahía Blanca