SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili has officially been selected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
The iconic guard won four titles with the San Antonio Spurs, led Argentina to a shocking Olympic Gold in 2004, revolutionized the game with the eurostep, and changed the perception of the sixth-man role in the NBA.
Ginobili reflected on all of that and more on Saturday afternoon at the AT&T Center, where his number hangs in the rafters. He said the moment that he was confirmed as an inductee was quite special.
"You start playing ball because you love it, because it's fun, because you're there with friends, in my case because it was almost a family mandate," he said. "We were all by the club, and we all played, and we all loved it, and we talked about it, and we just carry on. That passion, that drive to build up, one thing brings to the other one, and now when I thought there were not going to be more surprises after my career was done, you get recognition like this which makes you go back a little bit in time and relive your story, and it's incredible."
As for which part of that story was most special to him, it was hard to choose just one.
"Winning gold with your buddies, representing your country, there's nothing to compare it with, right because it's something that you are not supposed to live, being Argentina. Maybe if you're LeBron James or you're, you know one of the greats in America, in the States you can hope that happens. If you're Argentinian, you don't, you just want to be there, and for us to to have the opportunity to grab gold is something that you can't compare it to," Ginobili said. "But at the same time also, four rings with the Spurs is incredible. Some players go through careers fighting for one, maybe they get one, but we were lucky enough not only to win a championship, but do it consistently, and with a core group of players that were together for the whole ride. So the both things are incredible. And when you go back and you relive those moments, it's amazing that you had the opportunity to do it."
Manu did point to two championships that meant the most to him, the ones that bookended his prime.
"One is 14, because after 13 I may have thought that it was not going to happen again. I was very hurt. I was devastated. I was disappointed, and having come back with mostly the same team, having the opportunity to play against the same team and you know, redeem ourselves and play in such a beautiful way of being part of something that, I still watch highlights and get emotional. So that was a special one. We really needed that one. So not only was it joyful, it was therapeutic. I tell you, we were hurt, and that alleviated many of those aches and painful moments. And then 05 for me was very important now, again, Detroit was a tough, tough contender, went to, Game 7, lot of pressure, the most pressure I felt in my career. But it was my moment of really changing my mind in the sense that I made it when I realized that year: that I belong, that I was gonna do good, that I internally started to feel different right? From all the uncertainties of my rookie season and my second year to say, 'okay, I made it, now I gotta have another role and being respected and being way more of a leader of the team,' and my mindset shifted confidence-wise. I started to walk straighter, looking everybody on the eyes and not feeling like an outsider. Before I was. So those were the two moments that I remember the most."
Known for his wild playing style and competitive nature, Ginobili went from the 57th pick in the 1999 draft to a first-ballot Hall of Famer. he was a two-time NBA All Star and two-time All-NBA selection. Currently, he's assisting with player development for the Spurs, and said his unheralded start with the team lets him tell those young Spurs "the story of the underdog."
"The first two years were a little rough," he said with a smile. "Yeah, it was... it wasn't easy to adapt to having a coach like (Popovich) and having to be a specific part of his game, the way the team played. So to me, I guess, two years or a year and a half when I started to feel more appreciated for what I brought to the game, but at the beginning was quite tight. But then, you guys know the story that we both started to respect the other one and appreciated what their true mission and goals were, and why I was playing like that, and why he was coaching me like that, and we started to do compromises, make compromises and then it became great. So yeah, it wasn't like a red carpet and we all knew it was going to be a 16 year love story, it wasn't. So you know, I guess that background helped me to tell the younger guys a different story. The story of the underdog coming and starting from scratch, and having to earn everybody's trust and respect, because nothing, not much was expected from me from the 57th pick. So yeah, I guess I got a story to tell."
Reacting to the news on Monday, Gregg Popovich called it deserved and expected for Manu to make the Hall.
"Thrilled for him just like everybody here in San Antonio and back in Argentina I'm sure, it's a wonderful thing," Popovich said. "We knew we had a wild, competitive, young man who was in love with basketball, and was quite athletic, and just fierce. Just seemed to have no fear and do whatever it might be that he needed to do to win. He was a force of nature, and that's what we saw initially, to be honest."
The Big Three of Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker has won more games than any trio in NBA history, and he was an instrumental part of the Beautiful Game era in San Antonio.
Ginobili's career is full of iconic moments, from slapping a bat out of the air to posterizing Chris Bosh in the Finals to blocking James Harden from behind in the playoffs, to all the big shots and no-look passes in between. He's credited with inventing the Euro Step, though he prefers to say 'popularized.'
"I just played the only way that I thought was possible, I was not gonna go over Shaq and dunk, I was gonna have to go around people. That's the way my skillset and physical abilities found to get to the rim. I've done it since I can remember, and I think it was Steve Kerr, the first one talking about how weird it looked, like I looked like a squirrel crossing the street getting to the rim, and that's when I started to realize I was doing something a bit different," he said.
Ginobili said it's difficult to teach it to people, because it all felt so natural to him when he was doing it.
Only seven players in the history of the NBA have played in more playoff games, and he's the 25th leading playoff scorer in league history. The Spurs won 29 of the 40 series he played in. Ginobili retired with regular season totals of 14,043 points, 4,001 assists, and 1,495 made threes.
He is the first international player to make the Hall based on his NBA achievements, and spoke about the growth of international basketball in the league.
He's stayed in San Antonio after his playing days, and spoke about the 'everyday tranquility that he and his family have found here.
Ginobili still remembers the heat from his first day in San Antonio, and the cheers from the fans that helped him with his confidence through early uncertainty in his career.
Reflecting on the odds that a kid from Bahia Blanca in Argentina would make it to Springfield, Massachusetts, Ginobili said it was one in tens of millions. He gave credit to the people around him as well.
"I was part of two incredible teams, and if it wasn't for being part of those two teams I wouldn't be here," he said. It's not just about individual accomplishments. I never won a scoring championship, an MVP, even First Team. I'm here because of my surroundings, of the players I played with, the coaches, the organizations. I know I've been very lucky to have play with such teammates, quality, and altruistic, that help each other to accomplish huge things. So definitely this is not, I don't take it as an individual achievement, It's just that I've been in the right place in the right time and I contribute the way I could, and we all make each other better.
Nowadays when he's not at the Spurs' practice facility, he's taking his kids to school, sharing meals with his wife and friends in San Antonio, and spending time in Argentina with his family.
"Being able to do other things that before I couldn't, you know there was a school trip for two days? Let's go. There's a conference in Austin? Okay. Let's go. Los Angeles? Let's do it, and having that flexibility. December January, best time to be in Argentina for me. I can go! So yeah, gotta take the kids from school, we gotta home school, we gotta figure it out, but I have bought a lot of time, and that's what we all want, right? Time in our hands. So I I've been really enjoying doing what I want to do, explore my curiosities and without basically any limits."
Ginobili also spent nearly a half hour answering questions in Spanish.
