Emanuel Ginóbili · Biography

Emanuel David Ginóbili made his debut in Argentina’s Liga Nacional de Básquet on 29 September 1995, playing for Andino Sport Club of La Rioja against Peñarol in Mar del Plata: Andino lost 104-85 and he scored nine points on three three-pointers. He was born on 28 July 1977 in Bahía Blanca, in Buenos Aires province. A shooting guard, he played in Argentina and Italy and, from 2002 to 2018, for the San Antonio Spurs, with whom he won four NBA championships.

Bahía Blanca and early years

He grew up in a basketball family. His father, Jorge, coached at the Bahiense del Norte club, where Manu learned the game. His two older brothers also played professionally: Leandro, who retired in 2003, and Sebastián, who played in the Liga Nacional and in Spain’s LEB. After his first season with Andino, 1995-96, he was named the league’s best newcomer. In 1996 he returned to his hometown to join Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca, where he spent two seasons, until 1998.

Italy: Reggio Calabria and Bologna

From Estudiantes he moved to Italy to play for Viola Reggio Calabria, and in 1999, while still there, the San Antonio Spurs selected him with the 57th pick, in the second round of the NBA draft. He stayed in Europe. In 2000 he signed for Kinder Bologna, and in his first season he won the EuroLeague, the Italian league and the Italian Cup. The 2001 EuroLeague final was a best-of-five series against TAU Cerámica of Vitoria, settled in the fifth game. Ginóbili was named 2001 EuroLeague Finals MVP and Italian league MVP in 2001 and 2002. In 2002 he won the Italian Cup again and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

The San Antonio Spurs

He arrived in San Antonio in 2002 and made his NBA debut on 29 October that year against the Los Angeles Lakers. In his rookie season the Spurs won the 2003 championship. Alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, with Gregg Popovich as head coach, he added three more titles: 2005, 2007 and 2014. He was an All-Star in 2005 and 2011, made the All-NBA Third Team in 2008 and 2011 and won NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2008. Popovich often brought him off the bench, though he was usually on the floor to close games. He wore number 20 for sixteen seasons, all in San Antonio, and announced his retirement on 27 August 2018.

Playing style

He was a quick left-handed guard who was hard to read. He attacked the rim with changes of pace and the Euro step, a move he helped spread in the NBA, and paired those drives with three-point shooting and passing. On defence he relied on anticipation and steals. His coaches pointed to his willingness to come off the bench for a team that contended for the title every year.

The Argentina national team

He made his debut for Argentina on 30 July 1998 at the World Championship in Athens. In 2001 he won the FIBA Americas Championship in Neuquén, and in 2002 a silver medal at the World Championship in Indianapolis. At the 2004 Athens Olympics he scored 29 points in the semi-final that Argentina won 89-81 against the United States, and on 28 August the team beat Italy 84-69 in the final. It was the 2004 Olympic gold medal, and he was named tournament MVP. Bronze followed at Beijing 2008, and in 2011 a second FIBA Americas title, in Mar del Plata. His last tournament was the Rio 2016 Olympics, where Argentina lost to the United States in the quarter-finals. The Argentine Basketball Confederation announced the retirement of his number 5 on 29 July 2017.

Honours after retirement

The Spurs retired his number 20 jersey at a ceremony on 28 March 2019. On 2 April 2022 his election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was announced, and on 10 September 2022, in Springfield, Massachusetts, he became the first Argentine inducted into the Hall of Fame.