Players inducted into the Hall of Fame in recent years are a group of players destined to remain famous in basketball history, and the Hall of Fame ceremonies are also star-studded. In the past two years alone, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Chris Webb and Ben Wallace have won this supreme honor at Springfield. The candidates for the Class of 2022 are not as glamorous, but as the nominees list shows, there are still many great and worthy candidates.
On December 22, Beijing time, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced the list of candidates for the 2022 Hall of Fame, and Manu Ginobili, who has been retired for just 4 years, was nominated for the first time. Retired players such as Tom Chambers, Richard Hamilton, Sean Marion, Chancy Billups and others are on the list.
Bryant has said Ginobili is greatly underestimated. However, how could he not have been one of the people who underestimated Ginobili before?
Now, we all know that Ginobili is the mainstay of the San Antonio Spurs, he helped the Spurs win four NBA championships, and his "GDP" combination with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker is the greatest trio in NBA history.
In 2004, Ginobili led the Argentine men's basketball team to cut down the U.S. men's basketball team at the Athens Olympic Games, and finally won the Olympic men's basketball gold medal. When looking back and noticing that Ginobili only finished with the 57th pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, it is not difficult to imagine the arrogance of the American basketball community at that time, as well as the contempt for other regional basketball.
In the summer of 2002, young Kobe Bryant felt like he was on top of the world. In addition to teaming up with Shaquille O'Neal to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to win the "triple crown", Bryant also staged a legendary performance in Rock Park, An iconic streetball mecca in New York, and he is one of the NBA's brightest stars.
That same summer, Argentine player Ginobili prepared to jump from Europe to the NBA. After being selected by the Spurs, he played three more seasons in Italy, winning the Italian Basketball League and the European Basketball League. But at the time, Bryant wasn't bullish on the rising star of European basketball. But except for the Spurs, everyone sees it that way.
Bryant knows everything about the Spurs' No. 21, but he knows almost nothing about the No. 20. Before the first game of the 2002-03 season, he thought about knowing more about Ginobili. So Bryant approached Spurs defense expert Bruce Bowen and said, "Tell me something about this white boy." Bryant asked so frankly.
Voicing his own credibility, Bowen warned Kobe not to despise the Argentine, even though Ginobili was still a rookie. Bowen responded, "Oh, look, he's not a white boy. He's got something. ”
Of course, not only does Bryant not know Ginobili, but teammates like Duncan don't know Ginobili either. However, Ginobili soon earned Kobe's respect and became one of Kobe's closest friends. The Lakers and Spurs met in the Western Conference semifinals that year, and the Spurs toughly defeated the Lakers who won three consecutive championships. Ginobili played a key role in the series, averaging 11.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.2 steals and shooting 51.2 percent from the field.
It may have taken Ginobili a few years to gain universal recognition in the NBA, but for Bryant he really recognized Ginobili's ability in the 2003 playoffs. All along, Bryant has a strong appreciation for the Spurs. He offered to defend Ginobili during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and after Ginobili announced his retirement in 2018, he praised Ginobili as "one of the best players he's ever played against."
In the six seasons from 2002 to 2007, Ginobili helped the Spurs win three championships. In the 2004–05 season, Ginobili was named an All-Star for the first time. In the 2007–08 season, he won the best sixth man. Before winning his fourth ring in 2014, he was also twice named to the NBA's All-NBA Team.
Ginobili's sixteen years of personal accolades in the Holy City: 2 All-Star (off the bench), 1 all-sixth man, 2 all-third team, 2002–03 rookie second team. Compared with those honored Hall of Famers, these look a little shabby. But don't forget, he has been a "winner" throughout his career. He was able to start, but was often willing to sit on the bench and then became a symbol of a team and even synonymous with the best sixth man.
He is one of the finest international players of all time and is a symbol of national basketball. The unique and creative Ginobili became a force that revolutionized the sport. Under his promotion, the "European Step" has influenced generations of NBA players, and almost all basketball players today use this trick.
To be sure, Ginobili, who was nominated for the first time, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame without suspense, entering the temple of basketball with the great opponents who have competed in the past.
Tom Chambers, 62, and five-time WNBA All-Star Lindsey Whalen were also nominated for the first time. In addition to first-time nominees, there are many who have been nominated in the past few years. Billups, Hamilton and others have a good chance.
Other nominees:
Tim Hardaway, 5-time NBA All-Star and 5-time NBA All-NBA Team.
Magsy Boggs: Playing for 14 years and standing 1.6 meters tall, he is the shortest player in the league ever.
Mark Jackson: An All-Star in 1989, one of only six players in NBA history to have more than 10,000 career assists.
Swin Cash, who won two NCAA titles at the University of Connecticut and three in the WNBA coaching the Detroit Shocks and Seattle Storms.
Becky Harmon: 6-time WNBA and 4-time WNBA All-NBA Team.
George Carr: With 1,175 wins in charge, he ranks sixth in NBA history
Joey Crawford: NBA referee.
Bob Huggins: College coach who has won more than 900 games in his coaching career.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame roster will be announced during the NCAA Final Four in early April, and the selection ceremony will take place at Springfield on September 9-10, 2022.