Manu Ginobili

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Competitor for Argentina
Olympic medal record
Men's basketball
Gold	2004 Athens	Team

Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili with President of Argentina Néstor Kirchner
Position	Shooting guard
Nickname	Manu, Gino, Narigon
Height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Team	San Antonio Spurs
Nationality	Argentina
Born	July 28, 1977 (age 29) Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Draft	2^nd round, 57^th overall, 1999 San Antonio Spurs
Pro career	1995–present
Former teams	Andino Sport Club (1995-96) Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca (1996-98) Viola Reggio Calabria (1998-2000) Kinder Bologna (2000-2002)
Awards	2002-03 NBA All-Rookie Second Team 2004-05 NBA All-Star

Emanuel David Ginobili (Spanish: Ginóbili) (born July 28, 1977 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina), better known as Manu Ginobili, is an Argentine basketball player of Italian descent. He is a member of the Argentine national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. The NBA All-Star shooting guard is generally regarded as one of the best basketball players ever to come from Latin America.

1 Biography
2 Professional career
3 Player profile
4 Argentine National Team
5 In the media
6 Jersey Numbers
7 Titles
8 Awards
9 External links

[edit] Biography

Ginobili comes from a basketball family. Older brothers Sebastián and Leandro have played professionally in Argentina and Spain respectively. Their father, Jorge, was a coach at a club in Bahía Blanca, where Ginobili learned to play. Like many Argentines, Ginobili is a descendant of Italian immigrants.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Argentine and Italian years

Ginobili made his professional debut in the Argentine basketball league for the Andino Sport Club[1] team of La Rioja from 1995–1996, and was traded to Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca the next year. He played with his hometown team until the Italian league attracted him, and in 1998 he moved to Europe, playing in the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 seasons with Basket Viola Reggio Calabria, after which he was traded to Kinder Bologna, which he helped win the 2001 Italian Championship, 2001 and 2002 Italian Cups, and the 2001 Euroleague, where he was named MVP. Team's coach Ettore Messina helped him improve his shooting, defense and leadership. He also made the Italian league's All-Star game three times during this period.

[edit] San Antonio Spurs

In the 1999 NBA Draft, the Spurs selected Ginobili late in the second round with the 57th overall pick, the penultimate choice in the entire draft. However, he did not sign with the Spurs the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, where he made the all-tournament team alongside future NBA star Yao Ming and established NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic. Ginobili helped lead Argentina to a second-place finish. When he did return, he carried an injury in his ankle; and was forced to watch training camp on the sidelines for two weeks. In the years since, some commentators have deemed him the greatest draft day steal in modern NBA history, and perhaps all-time.

Manu playing for the Spurs

In his first season in the NBA, Manu fought to get minutes playing backup for veteran Steve Smith. He spent much of the early season injured, and found it hard to adjust to the NBA's style of play. The Spurs didn't have much need for him and went 60-22 for the season. They entered the playoffs eager to upset the highly fancied Lakers. As the situation with his injury improved, so did Manu, winning Rookie of the Month in March. In the postseason, Manu became an integral part of Gregg Popovich's rotational set up. The Spurs proceeded to wipe out Phoenix and Los Angeles. In these games Manu's scoring threat took opponents by surprise, giving them one more thing to cope with against the now highly fancied Spurs. He helped guide them past the Mavericks and then the Nets in the Finals. After the win, Manu's life changed a lot. He was named Argentina's top sportsman in the country's main newspaper, Clarin. He met Nestor Kirchner, the Argentine president, had a gym dedicated in his honour, and often required a police escort wherever he went.

After some issues with San Antonio over his contract, with agent Herb Rudoy, Ginobili re-signed and he became a starter for the Spurs in 2005. On February 8 of the following year, Ginobili was selected (by a vote of NBA coaches) to the 2005 Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve, his first time making it to the elite midseason showcase. On June 23, Ginobili won his second title with the Spurs playing as starter on a very defensive 7-game series against the Detroit Pistons, with a game seven score of 81-74. In the NBA Finals MVP Award voting, Manu was edged out (6 votes to 4) by teammate Tim Duncan. He was the second leading scorer of that team, finishing a memorable 2004-2005 season for him.

The 2005-2006 started with troubles for Ginobili, who suffered different foot and ankle injuries that hindered his ability.

On the February 21, 2007, Manu set a Spurs franchise record 24 straight points against the Atlanta Hawks. He scored 40 points to lead his team to a 103-96 victory.

[edit] Olympic gold medal 2004

On August 15, 2004, Ginobili led the Argentine team to the gold medal. Ginobili was named the MVP of the Olympic tournament, sporting heroics like in the 83-82 win over Serbia and Montenegro with a shot he made while falling to the floor with less than a second to go, in Argentina's basketball opener at the Olympic Games in Athens. Ginobili lead the team in both scoring (16.7 ppg) and assists (3.3 apg).

[edit] Player profile

Ginobili is a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 205 lb (93 kg) shooting guard. His NBA career averages are 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He is a relative latebloomer, entering the NBA at age 25 in a period where entering the NBA as a teenager was very popular.

Initially a sixth man, Ginobili soon established himself as a starter. He is known for his up-tempo style of play, behind-the-back moves when attacking the basket and for his dunking skills. Ginobili is also known for his clutch play, documented by his numerous European league MVP awards, becoming 2004 Olympic tournament MVP, and proven by his strong play in the Spurs' 2004-05 championship-winning campaign, where he narrowly lost the Finals MVP vote to team mate Tim Duncan by 2 votes.

Ginobili's modus operandi is the source of much consternation for opponents (for example, lowering his head while driving toward the basket, and willingness to draw charges on defense), among the most vocal of whom have been coach George Karl of the Denver Nuggets. These critics frequently accuse Ginobili of "flopping," or exaggerating the amount of contact that occurs when he is playing defense.

Playing against the Lakers

Ginobili also deserves mention for being one of the few players who are successful under both the physical, one-on-one play of the NBA and the more technical, jumpshooting rule set of the FIBA. He is the only player in basketball history to win the Euroleague, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA Championship ring. He is also the only non-U.S. player ever to win both the NBA Championship ring and the Olympic gold medal, and the only second Latin American to be selected to play in an NBA All-star game (after Panama's Rolando Blackman).

Ginobili's career high in points is 48, which he scored vs. the Phoenix Suns during an overtime game in January 2005.

[edit] Argentine National Team

Manu made his Argentina debut on the 30th of July 1998 at the World Cup in Athens. He is considered one of Argentina's most skillful and important national players ever, despite his age. His greatest accomplishment as a member of the national team came at the 2004 Athens Olympics when he and the Argentinians became the first non-American team in 26 years to win the gold medal. His highlight of the tournament was probably his game-winning buzzer beater with 0.1 seconds remaining, on the opening day of the Olympics, in a game versus Serbia & Montenegro.

[edit] In the media

During the 2005 Playoffs, Ginobili and teammate Tony Parker starred in an NBA-produced advertisement promoting the Finals where NBA players phoned in to the "Love Doctor" (portrayed by NBA legend Julius Erving) to get advice and to give their opinions about how much they loved the trophy.
Manu Ginobili speaks three languages fluently: Spanish, Italian and English.

[edit] Jersey Numbers

6 Bahiense del Norte, Andino de la Rioja, Kinder Bologna
10 Estudiantes BB, Reggio Calabria
20 San Antonio Spurs
5 Argentina National Team

[edit] Titles

2001 Italian League Championship (Kinder Bologna)
2001 Italian Cup (Kinder Bologna)
2001 Euroleague (Kinder Bologna)
2001 Americas Championship (Argentina)
2002 Italian Cup (Kinder Bologna)
2003 NBA Championship (San Antonio Spurs)
2004 Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal (Argentina)
2005 NBA Championship (San Antonio Spurs)

[edit] Awards

1999 Italian League All-Star
2000 Italian League All-Star
2000 Italian League Most Improved Player
2001 Italian League All-Star
2001 Italian League Most Valuable Player
2001 Euroleague Most Valuable Player
2002 Italian Cup Most Valuable Player
2002 Italian League Most Valuable Player
2002 All-Tournament Team, FIBA World Championship
2004 Ideal Olympics Team
2004 Summer Olympic Games Most Valuable Player
2005 NBA All-Star
2005 Nike Baller Of The Year (fan poll)
2006 All-Tournament Team, FIBA World Championship

[edit] External links

San Antonio Spurs 2004-05 NBA Champions

San Antonio Spurs 2002-03 NBA Champions

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/a/n/Manu_Ginobili_90e1.html"