Manu Ginobili, the San Antonio Spurs legend, officially announced his retirement today after 16 seasons in the NBA.
After winning the Euroleague title and the Finals MVP award in 2001 with Italian team Kinder Bologna, Ginobili joined the San Antonio Spurs in 2002.
The Argentinian guard spent his 16-year NBA career with San Antonio and in the process, he won four NBA titles, made two All-Star game appearances, and earned the 2007-08 Sixth Man of the Year Award.
He also won a gold medal with the Argentina national team in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece and a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Greece. Ginobili’s the only non-American to win four championships and an Olympic gold medal during his career.
He won 575 games with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker becoming the winningest trio in NBA history.
Ginobili, who turned 41 last month, is the last original big three to leave the Spurs after Duncan retired in 2016, and Parker left for the Charlotte Hornets during the offseason.
Ginobili is best remembered for popularizing the Eurostep in the NBA, for being an unselfish player and excelling in his role coming off the bench.
He was very versatile and could play in both ends of the court and in multiple positions, which allowed him to be useful as part of the Spurs’ starting lineup or coming off the bench.
As his career progressed he was able to adapt his game, developing a longer outside shot to play to his strengths and enjoy a longer and more productive career.
He finishes his Spurs career with 14,043 points and 4001 assists in 1,057 games played. He also had 1,392 assists and 1,495 three-point field goals, which are a Spurs best.
Ginobili, who averaged 8.9 points and 20 minutes a game for the Spurs last season, had been working out regularly at the Spurs’ practice facility as he considered his decision to retire.
The team had been hopeful that Ginobili, who had one year left on his contract worth $2.5 million, would want to return for a 17th season, but he decided instead to call it a career announcing his decision on Twitter. He called his career a “fabulous journey” and thanked his family, friends, teammates coaches, staff, and fans.
