Paul Pierce said Manu Ginobili is one of the top five most difficult players he had to guard: 'Long-haired Ginobili is one of the best players in the league '

Manu Ginobili is one of the most underrated players in basketball history. He rarely shows up in all-time lists, but most, if not all, of his peers speak so highly of him. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce for example saw enough of the Argentinian to label him as "one of the top five most difficult players to guard," especially the younger version of Manu.

"I first played against Manu at the World Championships in Indiana. Manu, I ain't gonna lie. He's one of the top five most difficult players to guard that I've had to guard," "The Truth" said on KG Certified. "You couldn't figure out, you know, he was tricky with his Euro (step)... He was taking that Euro and dunking that thing. He was a problem with his pump fake and his handles. Long-haired Ginobili is one of the best players in the league. Bald-head Ginobili is like that, but long-haired Ginobili? He's a problem child."

By all accounts, the 2002 World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis was Ginobili's coming-out party. The 6'6 guard averaged 14 points and four assists and made the All-Tournament team along with Peja Stojakovic, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, and Pero Cameron. 

The San Antonio Spurs drafted him in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft and stashed him in Europe. But after the tournament, they knew he was ready to take on the big league.

Long-haired Ginobili was a madman on both ends

Manu drew comparisons to former Golden State Warriors guard Sarunas Marciulionis. The Lithuanian peaked with the short-lived Run TMC era and served as the group's sixth-man in 1991-92, averaging 18.9 points and 3.4 assists on a 54 percent clip from the floor. However, unlike Marciulionis, Ginobili was a vital cog of a perennial championship contender and was the Spurs' best player in many playoff wars.

"Long-haired Ginobili might split the pick off the pick and roll and go backward. He could go behind his back and split, and then Euro your a** full speed coming down. You don't know which way he's picking; if he pick this way (Manu's left), he on your head. Boom!" Garnett breaks down the 2004 Olympic gold medalist's signature move.

"Then, he'll come down and D your a** up, hair swinging and s***, looking like Rico Suave. Then, he'll look like the Real Kabuki on defense and s***. I swear to God, dawg. He had this Argentina team, and they walked through the whole tournament," added the "Big Ticket."

As mentioned, Manu was already drafted three years earlier. The 2002 World Cup was just an eye-opener for the Spurs to bring him over. But even after becoming an international star, Ginobili still couldn't fully shine in San Antonio.

Manu's ultimate sacrifice

"El Contusione" arrived in San Antonio as a sixth man in the 2002-03 season. He worked his way up to become a full-time starter in the Black and Silver's 2005 title run and even has a solid Finals MVP case over Tim Duncan.

From that point onwards, it seemed like Ginobili was destined for superstardom, but the Spurs asked him to head back to the bench again. It was hard for the lefty shooting guard to accept at first, but he ultimately sacrificed and grew to love the role.

"At the beginning, it was kind of hard. It took me a while to understand it," said Ginobili via News4SA. "To get my ego out of the middle between Pop (Gregg Popovich) and me or the game and me and just do what has to be done for a team to be better."

"Once you get that ego thing out of the middle, I understood that was my role. That it was going to be better for the team," added Manu.

Of course, Manu was still a nightmare matchup whether he starts or comes off the bench. He played with the same wackiness and intensity that Spurs fans and even adversaries like KG and Pierce grew to admire.