🏀 NBA Player of the Day 12/15/2017 🏀

gameon (49)in #nba • 7 years ago

Manu Ginobili

Born	07/28/1977
AGE	40 years
FROM	Bahia Blanca, Argentina
NBA DEBUT	2002
YEARS IN NBA	15
CURRENT TEAM	SAS 2002-18
POSITION	Shooting guard

Player Profile

Ginóbili is a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 205 lb (93 kg) left-handed shooting guard who has been deployed either as a sixth man or starter for the Spurs. He has established himself as a reliable and versatile back court presence, and was a relatively late bloomer, entering the NBA at age 25 in a period when entering the NBA as a teenager was very common.

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 operandi however, causes concerns for some of his opponents. His go-to move is either a 3-pointer or a fierce attack to the basket, while he often lowers his head when driving to the basket to collapse defenses and create shots or passes to his teammates. Although Ginobili was not the originator or the first to bring the move to the NBA, he is credited for popularizing the Euro step in the league.

Ginobili is credited with being a team player, over his personal performance, such as his accepting the Spurs' coaches decision of playing off the bench rather than being a starter. He is also known for his tough to defend passes such as the no-look pass and the pick-and-roll.

He is also willing to draw charges on defense. In 2007, he was even listed by ESPN writer Thomas Neumann at No. 6 on the list of greatest floppers in NBA history. Five years later, Ian Thomsen, a Sports Illustrated columnist, grouped Ginóbili with fellow European league players Anderson Varejão and Vlade Divac as the players who "made [flopping] famous", by exaggerating contact on the court in a manner analogous to diving in soccer games.

In 2007, ESPN sportswriter John Hollinger ranked Ginóbili as the sixth best international player then-active in the NBA, describing the 57th draft pick as "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. Ref: Wikipedia-Ginobili