By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
As the great Manu Ginobili announced his retirement, Eurohoops reminiscents some of his most memorable moments that defined the sport, earning him nothing but praise.
The 41-year-old Argentinean leaves a great legacy to the younger generations. Ginobili led Kinder to the 2000-01 EuroLeague title and went on to play for San Antonio of the NBA until the end of his career, winning four NBA titles in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. He also led Argentina to a historic gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
That allowed Ginobili to be one of only two players to win the NBA, the EuroLeague and an Olympic gold medal. Bill Bradley – New York 1970, 1973, Olimpia Milano 1966, Tokyo 1964 – is the other player to reach such achievement. Ginobili also won a silver medal with Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, a bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games, as well as respective gold medals in the 2001 and 2011 FIBA Americas championship, and the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball. As for individual awards, Ginobili was chosen to the All-NBA third team in 2008 and 2011, becoming the competition’s sixth-best man in 2008.
And here are five defining moments for his career and the international basketball game.
2001 – Ginobili won the EuroLeague with Kinder Bologna, in the final against Tau Ceramica. It was the first ever final of the modern EuroLeague era. He was also named MVP of the game with 16 points and six assists.
2004 – A few years onward, Argentina beat Italy in the Olympic Gold Medal final, all thanks to charismatic Ginobili. It all started with the “revenge” for the lost final of FIBA Mundobasket in 2002 and a historic achievement for the “golden generation” of Argentina. Their first big victim was Serbia, the reigning World Champions and Ginobili had 27 points.