Manu Ginobili will turn 40 this July. Just take a moment to digest this fact. Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili, was born on 28th of July, 1977 in Argentina in a basketball family. He spent the early beginnings of his career in Argentina and in Italy with lots of success. Ginobili was a second round (57th) draft pick in 1999 draft, drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. He played in Itay until 2002. when he decided to come and play in the NBA. The way his career turned out to be, Ginobili is arguably one of the biggest draft "steals" of all time. This is his 15th season with the San Antonio Spurs but on Monday night we might have seen the last of Ginobili.
As the minutes were ticking down in Game 4 of the Western conference finals between the Spurs and the Warriors, fans at the AT&T Center stood up and chanted "Manu, Manu, Manu".
Manu's last dance with the Spurs ?
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich informed Ginobili on Sunday, one day before Game 4, that he will be in the starting lineup for Monday night's game. The start marked Ginobili's first in the postseason since 2013, and it could be his last of the career. The Warriors came into Monday's matchup with 3-0 series lead and ended up blowing out the Spurs in Game 4 with 129-115 victory. That loss eliminated the Spurs from this year's playoffs and with 2:25 left in the game, Gregg Popovich substituted Ginobili and gave him one last chace to see and hear how much he means to every Spurs fan.
As Ginobili walked off the court, every person in the arena including Warrios players, gave him a round of applause and ovations. The crowd at AT&T Center rose to its feet and chanted "Ma-nu, Ma-nu" as Manu sat on the bench next to his teammate and one of his closest friends Patty Mills.
Ginobili finished the game with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting, seven assists and three steals in 32 minutes of action.
After the game he spoke to the media, "I do feel like I can still play, but that's not what's going to make me retire or not. It's about how I feel and if I want to through all of that again. It's no secret that it's getting harder and harder for me, but I want to let it sink in for three or four weeks and then I'll sit down with my wife and decide."
Illustrious career for Ginobili
There is no doubt that Ginobili had a Hall of Fame career.
He is a four-time NBA champion with the Spurs, two time All-Star, Sixth man of the year winner and he was All-NBA third team twice in his career. Throughout his 15 seasons with San Antonio he's averaged 13.6 points, 3.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 45% from the field. His best season was in 2007/08 when he averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 assists per game and shot 40% from the three-point line. Ginobili will go down as one of the best foreign-born players in the history of the NBA.
Spurs head coach Greg Popovich had this to say about Ginobili's potential retirement after Game 4 against the Warriors, "You know, Manu is a grown man and he'll figure out what's best for him and his family. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to honour him in front of our home fans. This is a Hall of Fame player."
