Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili (born 28 July 1977) is an
ArgentineArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
professional basketball player. Coming from a family of professional basketball players, he is a member of the
Argentine men's national basketball teamThe Argentina national basketball team represents Argentina in basketball international competitions, and is controlled by the Argentine Basketball Federation....
and the
San Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
in the
National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA).
Ginóbili spent the early part of his basketball career in
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where he won several individual and team honors. His stint with Italian side
Kinder Bologna-Notable players: Marco Bonamico 9 seasons: '75-'76, '77-'78, '80-'86, '88-'89 Carlo Caglieris 6 seasons: '75-'81 Pietro Generali 6 seasons: '75-'76, '78-'83 Gianni Bertolotti 5 seasons: '75-'80 Terry Driscoll 3 seasons: '75-'78 Eric Luc Leclerc 1 season: '75-'76 Luigi Serafini 2 seasons: '75-'77...
was particularly productive, earning two
Lega ALega Basket Serie A is the highest level club competition in Italian professional basketball where play determines the national champion. The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 30 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals and semifinals series are best-of-five, and...
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
awards, the Euroleague Final Four MVP and the 2001 Euroleague and
Triple CrownThe Triple Crown is a term in European professional club basketball that refers to a club winning their country's top tier national domestic league, primary national domestic cup, and the top tier European continental level competition in the same season. It is the highest accomplishment that a...
championships. The
shooting guardThe shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
was selected as the 57th overall pick in the
1999 NBA DraftThe 1999 NBA Draft was held on June 30, 1999 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Brand , Trajan Langdon , Corey Maggette and William Avery being selected out of Duke University...
and is considered one of the biggest draft steals of all time. Ginóbili returned to Italy and only joined the Spurs in 2002. He did not take long to establish himself as a key player for the Spurs, and has since earned three NBA championship rings as well as being named an
All-Star in 2005 and 2011. In the 2007–08 season, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
With the Argentina national team, Ginóbili has also enjoyed success. He made his debut with the national team in 1998, and was a member of the team which won the
gold medalA gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
during the
2004 Olympics Basketball TournamentBasketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena in Athens, Greece for the preliminary rounds, with the latter stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex....
. Hailed as one of the finest European-based players to grace the NBA, he plays a high-tempo and intensive game. He is also one of only two players, along with
Bill BradleyWilliam Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
, to have won a
EuroleagueEuroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.
Family and personal life
Ginóbili comes from an Italian-Argentine family of basketball players. His oldest brother, Leandro, retired in 2003 after seven years in the
Argentine basketball leagueThe Liga Nacional de Básquet is the top level of the Argentine basketball league system. The league is controlled by the Basketball Clubs' Association...
, while Sebastián has played in both the local league and the Spanish
Liga Española de BaloncestoLiga Española de Baloncesto is the second league of the Spanish basketball league system behind the ACB. It is run by the FEB. The Liga Española de Baloncesto is divided into two categories and they are sponsored by Adecco. The names of the two leagues are Adecco Oro and Adecco Plata.The LEB league...
. Their father Jorge was a coach at a club in
Bahía BlancaBahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...
, where Ginóbili learned to play the game. Given the proliferation of basketball clubs in Bahía Blanca and his idolization of
Michael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
, Ginóbili's love for basketball grew rapidly.
Ginóbili has dual citizenship with Argentina and Italy. As a result of his travels, he can speak
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
,
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
fluently. In his free time, Ginóbili enjoys listening to Latin music, watching movies and relaxing with his friends. In 2004, he married Marianela Oroño. On May 16, 2010, his wife gave birth to twin boys, Dante and Nicola.
Argentine and Italian years
Ginóbili made his professional debut in the
Argentine basketball leagueThe Liga Nacional de Básquet is the top level of the Argentine basketball league system. The league is controlled by the Basketball Clubs' Association...
for the Andino Sport Club team of
La RiojaLa Rioja is the capital city of the Argentine province of La Rioja, located on the east of the province. The city has a population of almost 150,000 as per the ....
from 1995–1996, and was traded to
Estudiantes de Bahía BlancaClub Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca, known as Weber Bahía Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a sports club based in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The club is best known for its basketball team, that currently plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquet , the top division of the...
the next year. He played with his hometown team until the
Italian leagueLega Basket Serie A is the highest level club competition in Italian professional basketball where play determines the national champion. The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 30 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals and semifinals series are best-of-five, and...
attracted him, and in 1998 he moved to Europe, spending the 1998–1999 and 1999–2000 seasons with
Basket Viola Reggio CalabriaViola Reggio Calabria is the name traditionally given to the main men's professional basketball team from the city Reggio Calabria, Italy. The team colors are black and orange....
. In 1999, he teamed with
Brent ScottBrent Steven Scott is a retired American professional basketball player, formerly in the NBA. He played college basketball at Rice University. Scott is a 6'10", . center....
,
Brian OliverBrian Darnell Oliver is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'4" and 210 lb shooting guard out of Georgia Tech, he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA in the 2nd round of the 1990 Draft...
and
Sydney JohnsonSydney Johnson is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach at Fairfield University for the Fairfield Stags men's basketball team. Previously, Johnson was the head coach at Princeton University from 2007 to 2011 where he led the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team to the...
to win a championship. Ginóbili then entered the
1999 NBA DraftThe 1999 NBA Draft was held on June 30, 1999 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Brand , Trajan Langdon , Corey Maggette and William Avery being selected out of Duke University...
and the
San Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
selected him late in the second round with the 57th overall pick. However, he did not sign with the Spurs at this point in time. Instead, he returned to Italy to play for
Kinder Bologna-Notable players: Marco Bonamico 9 seasons: '75-'76, '77-'78, '80-'86, '88-'89 Carlo Caglieris 6 seasons: '75-'81 Pietro Generali 6 seasons: '75-'76, '78-'83 Gianni Bertolotti 5 seasons: '75-'80 Terry Driscoll 3 seasons: '75-'78 Eric Luc Leclerc 1 season: '75-'76 Luigi Serafini 2 seasons: '75-'77...
, which he helped win the 2001 Italian Championship, the 2001 and 2002
Italian CupsThe Italian Basketball Cup , or Coppa Italia, is an annual professional basketball competition between pro clubs from the Italian League.-History and format:...
, and the 2001
EuroleagueEuroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
, where he was named the
Euroleague 2000–01The inaugural Euroleague season 2000-01 under the new ULEB authority started on October 16, 2000 with a regular season game between hosts Real Madrid and Olympiacos at the Raimundo Saporta Pavilion in Madrid, Spain, and ended with the championship finals game on May 10, 2001, at the PalaMalaguti...
Euroleague Final Four MVP. He was also named the Italian League MVP in 2000–01 and 2001–02, and made the Italian league's
All-StarAll-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
game three times during this period.
San Antonio Spurs
It was not until after the
2002 FIBA World ChampionshipThe 2002 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA from August 29 to September 8, 2002.-Venues:-Squads:...
in
IndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
that Ginóbili joined the Spurs.
There, he made the All-Tournament team alongside future NBA star
Yao MingYao Ming is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association...
and established NBA stars
Dirk NowitzkiDirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association...
and
Peja StojakovicPredrag Stojaković , also known by his nickname Peja , is a Serbian professional basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association . Standing at 6 ft 10 , Stojaković plays the small forward position...
, and helped lead Argentina to a second-place finish. In his first season in the NBA, Ginóbili played backup for veteran guard
Steve SmithSteven Delano "Steve" Smith is a retired American basketball player. He played with several teams in his 14-season National Basketball Association career, including the Miami Heat, the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs, but is perhaps best known for his five-year stint with the...
. He spent much of the early season injured, and found it hard to adjust to the NBA's style of play. As his injury improved, so did Ginóbili, winning the
Western ConferenceBelow is a list of current Western Conference NBA team rosters.-Western Conference:There are a total of 15 teams in the Western Conference. The current leading team of the Western conference are the Dallas Mavericks....
Rookie of the Month in March, and being named to the All-Rookie Second Team at the end of the season. Still, he only started in five games as the Spurs chalked up a 60–22 regular season win–loss record. The Spurs then entered
the playoffsThe 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....
eager to upend the defending champions
Los Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, and this was when Ginóbili rose to prominence.
In contrast to his regular season, Ginóbili became an integral part of
Gregg PopovichGregg Popovich is an American basketball coach, and is currently the head coach of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. With the resignation of Jerry Sloan as head coach of the Utah Jazz on February 10, 2011, Popovich is the longest tenured coach in the NBA and also the...
's rotational set up in the playoffs, playing in every game. The Spurs eliminated Phoenix and Los Angeles and in those games his scoring threat took opponents by surprise, giving them one more thing to cope with against the now highly-favored Spurs. He helped guide them past the
Dallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
in the Western Conference Finals and then the
New Jersey NetsThe New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in the
FinalsThe 2003 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2002–03 NBA season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New Jersey Nets of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The Spurs...
, securing San Antonio's second championship. After the win, Ginóbili won his first
Olimpia de OroThe Olimpia Award is a sport award in Argentina, given every year by the Argentine Sports Journalists' Circle since 1954.An Olimpia de Plata is awarded to one of the candidates of each one of the 41 sports disciplines...
("Golden Olympia") as Argentina's sportsperson of the year, and even met Argentine president
Néstor KirchnerNéstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
. A gym in Bahía Blanca was dedicated in Ginóbili's honor as well.
In the 2003–04 season, Ginóbili began featuring more regularly for the Spurs, starting in half of the 77 regular season games he played in. His statistics improved in all major categories, as he averaged 12.8
pointsPoints in basketball are used to keep track of the score in a game. Points can be accumulated by making field goals or free throws ....
, 4.5
reboundsA rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
, 3.8
assistsIn basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
and 1.8
stealsIn basketball, a steal occurs when a defensive player legally causes a turnover by his positive, aggressive action. This can be done by deflecting and controlling, catching, or batting to a teammate a pass or dribble of an offensive player...
per game. During
the 2004 playoffsThe 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...
, the Spurs met their perennial rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the Western Conference Semifinals. Following Game 5 where
Derek FisherDerek Lamar Fisher is an American professional basketball point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . His NBA career has spanned more than 14 years, during which he has won five NBA Championships...
scored a
buzzer-beatingIn basketball, a buzzer beater is a shot taken just before the game clock of a period expires, when the buzzer sounds. The term is normally reserved for baskets that win or tie the game, but also refers to shots that beat an end-of-quarter or halftime buzzer...
jumpshot, the Spurs lost Game 6 and the series 4–2. While Ginóbili did not start in a single playoff game as he did in 2003, his playoff statistics improved significantly, with 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
After some initial issues with San Antonio over his contract, Ginóbili re-signed with the Spurs and started every game during the 2004–05 season. This was his best season yet as he was selected as a reserve by NBA coaches to the 2005 Western Conference
All-StarAll-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
team, marking his début in the elite mid-season showcase. During
the playoffsThe 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...
, Ginóbili's play was pivotal to winning San Antonio's third championship. The Spurs first defeated Phoenix 4–1 in the Conference Finals, before prevailing in a very defensive oriented seven-game series against the
Detroit PistonsThe Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
. Ginóbili recorded career-highs in his playoff numbers, most notably 20.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg, and had the third highest point total in the entire playoffs. In the NBA Finals MVP Award voting, the shooting guard was a candidate but was edged out by teammate and captain
Tim DuncanTimothy Theodore "Tim" Duncan is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association . The 6-foot 11-inch , 255-pound power forward/center is a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and NBA Rookie of the Year...
. The former finished the 2004–05 season as the second leading scorer on the team. During the season, he became only the fourth person to win consecutive
Olimpias de Oro, this time sharing the award with
soccerAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
star
Carlos TévezCarlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
.
The 2005–06 season was an injury-plagued one for Ginóbili, who suffered foot and ankle injuries that hindered his ability to play. He managed 65 games in the regular season, but saw a dip in major statistics as compared to the previous season. During
the playoffsThe 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
, he returned to form, but was unable to prevent the Spurs from being eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Semifinals.
In the 2006–07 season, the Spurs lacked energy from their reserves and Ginóbili provided it by coming off the bench for most of the second half of the season helping the Spurs attain the best record in the second half of the season. Ginóbili produced numbers closely identical to his successful 2004–05 campaign despite starting in only 36 of 75 games, his second lowest since arriving at San Antonio. The
2007 NBA PlayoffsThe 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
saw him help the Spurs to defeat the
Denver NuggetsThe Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
,
Phoenix SunsThe Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
and
Utah JazzThe Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, before sweeping the
Cleveland CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
to win his third and San Antonio's fourth championship.
Ginóbili was to play an even bigger role for the Spurs the following season, reaching career high averages in points, rebounds, assists, and three point field goal percentage. On 21 April 2008, the NBA announced that Ginóbili had won the 2008
Sixth Man AwardThe National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's most valuable player for his team coming off the bench as a substitute . A panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from throughout...
; only a couple of weeks later, the Argentine was also named to the All-NBA Third Team.
In the playoffsThe 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
, the Spurs defeated the Suns 4–1 in the first round, Ginóbili was moved to the starting lineup in the second round against the New Orleans Hornets after the Spurs lost the first two road games. San Antonio eventually prevailed in seven games, the Argentine played another strong series, leading the Spurs in points and assists per game (21.3 and 6.0 respectively). However, San Antonio lost to arch-rivals Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals in five games, and once again failed to capture back-to-back NBA championships.
The following seasonThe 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
, Ginóbili was injured for most of the campaign, managing only 44 regular season games and missing the
2009 NBA PlayoffsThe 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
entirely. San Antonio qualified for the playoffs as the third seed with a 54–28 record, but with an aging supporting cast (Bowen,
Michael FinleyMichael Howard Finley is a retired American professional basketball player. He last played for the Boston Celtics of the NBA.-High school career:...
and
Kurt ThomasKurt Vincent Thomas is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls. Thomas is a 6'9", 230 lb. power forward/center known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense. Drafted by the Miami Heat in 1995, Thomas played college basketball at Texas...
were all in their late 30s), the Spurs were only considered fringe contenders for the championship. As it turned out, the strong play of Duncan and
Tony ParkerWilliam Anthony "Tony" Parker is a French professional basketball player who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA....
were not enough to help the Spurs avoid a 4–1 defeat by Dallas, and the Spurs were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
On 31 October 2009, in a game against the
Sacramento KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, a bat descended onto the court at the
AT&T CenterAT&T Center is an indoor arena, located in San Antonio, Texas, USA. It seats 18,581, for basketball , 13,800, for ice hockey and 19,000, for concerts or religious gatherings and contains 2,018 club seats, 50 luxury suites and 32 bathrooms .It was completed in 2002, as the SBC...
, causing a stoppage of play. As the bat flew past, Ginóbili swatted the bat to the ground with his hand. He then carried the creature off the court, earning the applause of the crowd. On 9 April 2010, the Spurs and Ginóbili agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract extension through the 2012–13 season.
Regular season
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" |
San AntonioThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
| 69 || 5 || 20.7 || .438 || .345 || .737 || 2.3 || 2.0 || 1.4 || .2 || 7.6
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 77 || 38 || 29.4 || .418 || .359 || .802 || 4.5 || 3.8 ||
1.8 || .2 || 12.8
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 74 || 74 || 29.6 ||
.471 || .376 || .803 || 4.4 || 3.9 || 1.6 ||
.4 || 16.0
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 65 || 56 || 27.9 || .462 || .382 || .778 || 3.5 || 3.6 || 1.5 ||
.4 || 15.1
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 75 || 36 || 27.5 || .464 || .396 || .860 || 4.4 || 3.5 || 1.5 ||
.4 || 16.5
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 74 || 23 ||
31.0 || .460 ||
.401 || .860 ||
4.8 || 4.5 || 1.5 ||
.4 ||
19.5
|-
| align="left" |
2008–09The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 44 || 7 || 26.8 || .454 || .330 ||
.884 || 4.5 || 3.6 || 1.5 ||
.4 || 15.5
|-
| align="left" |
2009–10The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 75 || 21 || 28.7 || .441 || .377 || .870 || 3.8 ||
4.9 || 1.4 || .3 || 16.5
|-
| align="left" |
2010–11The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...
| align="left" | San Antonio
|
80 ||
79 || 30.3 || .433 || .349 || .871 || 3.7 ||
4.9 || 1.5 || .4 || 17.4
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 633 || 339 || 28.1 || .449 || .371 || .834 || 4.0 || 3.9 || 1.5 || .3 || 15.3
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" | All-Star
| align="left" |
| 2 || 0 || 21.5 || .363 || .000 || .833 || 3.0 || 3.0 || 2.0 || .5 || 7.5
Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |
2003The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....
| align="left" |
San AntonioThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
|
24 || 0 || 27.5 || .386 || .384 || .757 || 3.8 || 2.9 || 1.7 || .4 || 9.4
|-
| align="left" |
2004The 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 10 || 0 || 28.0 || .447 || .286 || .818 || 5.3 || 3.1 || 1.7 || .1 || 13.0
|-
| align="left" |
2005The 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 23 ||
15 || 33.6 ||
.507 ||
.438 || .795 ||
5.8 || 4.2 || 1.2 || .3 ||
20.8
|-
| align="left" |
2006The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 13 || 11 || 32.8 || .484 || .333 || .839 || 4.5 || 3.0 || 1.5 || .5 || 18.4
|-
| align="left" |
2007The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 20 || 0 || 30.1 || .401 || .384 || .836 || 5.5 || 3.7 || 1.6 || .2 || 16.7
|-
| align="left" |
2008The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 17 || 6 || 32.9 || .422 || .373 ||
.896 || 3.8 || 3.9 || .6 || .3 || 17.8
|-
| align="left" |
2010The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 10 || 10 ||
35.2 || .414 || .333 || .866 || 3.7 ||
6.0 ||
2.6 || .2 || 19.4
|-
| align="left" |
2011The 2011 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2010–11 season. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, all seeded 1 to 8 in a tournament bracket, with all rounds in a best-of-seven format. The 2011 NBA Playoffs began on...
| align="left" | San Antonio
| 5 || 5 || 34.8 || .443 || .321 || .780 || 4.0 || 4.2 ||
2.6 ||
.6 || 20.6
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 122 || 47 || 31.4 || .440 || .372 || .822 || 4.6 || 3.8 || 1.5 || .3 || 16.5
Argentine national team
Ginóbili is a member of the Argentine national basketball team, and made his debut during the
1998 FIBA World ChampionshipThe 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Athens, Greece from July 29 to August 9, 1998...
in
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. His best accomplishment as a member of the national team came at the
2004 Athens Olympics Basketball TournamentBasketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at the Helliniko Olympic Indoor Arena in Athens, Greece for the preliminary rounds, with the latter stages being held in the Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex....
when Argentina became the first team other than Team USA to win the gold medal in 16 years. The highlight of the tournament was his game-winning
buzzer beaterIn basketball, a buzzer beater is a shot taken just before the game clock of a period expires, when the buzzer sounds. The term is normally reserved for baskets that win or tie the game, but also refers to shots that beat an end-of-quarter or halftime buzzer...
with 0.7 seconds remaining, on the opening day of the Olympics, in a game versus Serbia and Montenegro. Ginóbili led the team in both scoring (19.3 points per game) and assists (3.3 assists per game). At the
2008 Beijing Olympics Basketball TournamentBasketball contests at the 2008 Olympic Games were held from August 9, 2008 to August 24, 2008. Competitions were held at the Wukesong Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China...
, Ginóbili's Argentina defeated
LithuaniaThe Lithuanian national basketball team is the representative for Lithuania in international men's basketball. Lithuania won bronze medals in three out of five Olympic tournaments it participated in....
to win the bronze, although the shooting guard did not play in that match after sustaining an injury in the semi-finals. In April 2010, Ginóbili announced he would not participate in the
2010 FIBA World ChampionshipThe 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
due to family reasons.
Player profile
Ginóbili is a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 205 lb (93 kg) left-handed
shooting guardThe shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
who has been deployed either as a
sixth manThe sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in. The sixth man often plays minutes equal to or exceeding some of the starters and posts similar statistics. He is often a...
or starter for the Spurs. He has established himself as a reliable and versatile back court presence, and is a relatively late bloomer, entering the NBA at age 25 in a period where entering the NBA as a teenager was very common. Alongside teammates
Tony ParkerWilliam Anthony "Tony" Parker is a French professional basketball player who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA....
and Tim Duncan, he forms one of the centerpieces of San Antonio's game.
Apart from his up-tempo and aggressive style of play, Ginóbili is known for his clutch play. This is documented by his numerous European league MVP awards, and his performances in San Antonio's championship-winning campaigns. Ginóbili's
modus operandiModus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
however, is a source of consternation for some of his opponents. A fierce attacker of the basket, he often lowers his head when driving to the basket, and is willing to draw charges on defense. He was even listed by
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
writer Thomas Neumann at #6 on the list of greatest
floppersIn basketball, flop is a pejorative term that refers to a defensive player intentionally falling backward to the floor upon physical contact with an offensive player. The hope is that it will appear to the official that the defensive player was knocked off of his feet by the offensive player's...
in NBA history.
But having traversed the major basketball continents in his basketball career, Ginóbili is one of the few players who have enjoyed success under both the physical, one-on-one play of the NBA and the more technical, jumpshooting rule set of the FIBA. He is one of only two players in basketball history along with
Bill BradleyWilliam Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
to win the
EuroleagueEuroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
, an
OlympicBasketball has been a Summer Olympics sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, it was held as demonstration event in 1904 and 1932, both in the United States. Women's basketball was played in the Olympics only since 1976....
gold medal, and an NBA Championship ring. He is also the first non-U.S. player to win both the NBA championship ring and the Olympic gold medal, and the second
Latin AmericanLatin Americans are the citizens of the Latin American countries and dependencies. Latin American countries are multi-ethnic, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, some Latin Americans don't take their nationality as an ethnicity, but identify themselves with...
to be selected to play in an NBA All-Star game (after
PanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
's
Rolando BlackmanRolando Antonio Blackman is a retired professional basketball player. He was an All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks...
).
In 2007, ESPN sportswriter
John HollingerJohn Hollinger is an analyst and writer for ESPN. He primarily covers the NBA. Hollinger grew up in Mahwah, New Jersey and is a 1993 graduate of the University of Virginia....
even ranked Ginóbili as the sixth best international player in the history of the NBA, describing the 57th draft pick as the "one of the great draft heists of all time", and attributed the trend of NBA teams drafting developing European players to the success of the Argentine. The following year, Ginóbili was named by ESPN as one of the best Euroleague players to have graced the NBA.
Honors
Awards
- Italian League All-Star: 1999, 2000, 2001
- Italian League Most Improved Player: 2000, 2001, 2002
- Euroleague Final Four Most Valuable Player: 2001
- FIBA Americas Championship Most Valuable Player: 2001
- Italian Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002
- All-Tournament Team, FIBA World Championship: 2002, 2006
- Olimpia de Oro: 2003, 2004 (shared with Carlos Tévez)
- NBA All-Star: 2005, 2011
- 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors: 2008
- NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award: 2008
- All-NBA Third Team: 2008, 2011
Titles
- Italian League Championship: 1999, 2001
- Italian Cup: 2001, 2002
- Euroleague: 2001
- Triple Crown: 2001
- Americas Championship: 2001, 2011
- NBA Championship: 2003, 2005, 2007
- Summer Olympic Games gold medal: 2004
- Summer Olympic Games bronze medal: 2008
See also
External links