The Argentine is lowering the curtain on his career as a professional marking a before and after for Latinos in the best basketball in the world

The list of Latinos who have played in the NBA is wide: Alfred Butch Lee, Leandro Barbosa, Al Horford, Luis Scola, Anderson Varejao, Carlos Delfino, Jose Juan Barea, Francisco Alberto Garcia, Carlos Arroyo, Nené Hilario, Eduardo Nájera and Carl Herrera are some of those born south of the Rio Grande (and the Caribbean) who have played in the best basketball in the world. But from this list about the Argentine Emanuel David Ginobili, who many consider the best Latin American to have stepped on a basketball court.

Leer en español: Manu Ginóbili: el dios latino de la NBA

It is true that some South American players have also reached championships in the United States basketball tournament. Such is the case of the Venezuelan Carl Herrera, owner of two rings consecutively in the seasons (1994 and 1995) with the Houston Rockets.

Alfred Butch Lee (Santurce, Puerto Rico, 1956) was the first Latin American basketball player in the NBA, besides the first to win the champion ring with the Magic Johnson Lakers and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

A career worthy of applauding

The Argentine, meanwhile, has accumulated in his successful career in the best basketball on the planet 4 rings of champion (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014), twice was selected to participate in the All-Star Game; in 2008 he was named Best Sixth Man in the tournament and has also been included twice in the third best quintet in the North American league.

In addition, Manu has been a member of the Spurs throughout his career, which in this 2018 reached 16 years in the NBA and therefore beats all Latinos in minutes and points in the league.

With his selection he has been equally successful: he won the Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004; the silver medal in the World Basketball Championship of 2002 and the bronze medal in both FIBA ​​2004 and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

16 years with the Spurs, more than a thousand matches and more than 16,000 points (according to basketball-reference.com) make the player born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, on July 28, 1977, a true living legend of basketball.

It is worth remembering that Manu was selected in the 57th position of the NBA Draft in 1999, although he debuted in the United States in 2002 quickly becoming one of the key players of the team, always fulfilling the role entrusted to him, even at 40 years old. old.

Among the best 100 in history

The magazine Slam Magazine, one of the most prestigious in terms of international basketball is concerned, ranked with the 100 best players in the history of the NBA and there the only Latino who appears is none other than Ginobili who held the 72nd place .

"The statistics are good, but they do not do justice to the significance of Ginobili's career. He starred in the 2004 Olympic gold medal winning team that defeated the USA. and was an irreplaceable part of the four-time champion Spurs led by Pop and Duncan. Manu is a legend of basketball, a player whose importance surpasses the statistics of his career ", can be read in the North American magazine.

In 2018, at the end of the series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors, the active period of Manu in the NBA will be over, at which time the legend of this Latino will officially begin. The "Planet of the Giants" arrived to impact.

Latin American Post | Freddy González

Translated from "Manu Ginóbili: el dios latino de la NBA"