Manu Ginobili is one of the most iconic guards of the 2000s. He is in conversation to be the greatest sixth man in NBA history, playing a pivotal role on the San Antonio Spurs his entire career as the backup to Tony Parker. While he played off the bench, Ginobili was one of the best guards in the NBA during his prime and was crucial to the Spurs dynasty that won multiple championships.
Those championships would not be a possibility if the Spurs didn't have the incredible Tim Duncan as the centerpiece of the franchise. Duncan and Ginobili are inextricably linked due to the success they had on the Spurs.
Their bond is only going to get deeper as Ginobili nears his enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions to the Spurs championship-winning dynasty and his historic performances at an international level for Argentina. Duncan will be the one inducting him into the hall after himself being inducted into the 2020 class.
Ginobili is technically the greatest winner of all time by having the highest win percentage for players that played more than 1000 games. Duncan and Parker are also some of the greatest winners ever, with all 3 having a win percentage of over 70% for their careers.
Duncan had infamously not been thrilled about the Spurs drafting Ginobili, telling a story about how he found out about Ginobili's selection and admitting he had no clue who he was. Duncan is definitely glad that Gregg Popovich found Manu to be the glue of the Spurs dynasty.
Manu was humble and always played the best he could in the role he was in. Not many players would sacrifice a starting position in the NBA, but Ginobili happily did as he understood the levels of greatness he could reach if he was playing with Duncan and Parker on the Spurs. Thankfully, he stayed and is now going to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame.
More must-reads: