Shams Charania, a reporter from The Athletic, said former San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili would be the first member to be inducted into the 2022 Basketball Hall of Fame. In this way, Manu will become the first Argentine in history to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Argentine played 16 seasons in the NBA, all for the San Antonio Spurs, winning four championships, making two All-Stars and two-time all-team selections, and was named the winner of the 2008 Sixth Man of the Year Award. In March 2019 spurs retired his legendary no. 20 jersey.
Internationally, he helped Argentina win two medals at the Olympic Games, gold and bronze in 2004 and 2008. In addition, at the 2002 World Basketball Championship, Ginobili led Argentina to defeat the American Dream Five team and was selected as the best team at the World Championships.
Whenever discussed who is the best international player of the NBA's history? Manu will definitely be on this list. As a proud Argentine, he has helped the league and the tournament grow globally and even more. Since the 1992 Olympics began allowing professional players to compete, Argentina remains the only country other than the United States to win a gold medal. Without hesitation, he has a much higher international status than the NBA's Best Sixth Man.
Given that Ginobili spent most of his time in the NBA playing the sixth-man role, his eligibility for the Hall of Fame is the most unique in history.
He entered the NBA relatively late. It was more than three years after the Spurs selected him that he defeated the Purple And Gold Dynasty in his black jersey.
In the 1999 NBA Draft, Ginobili was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 57th pick, but the Argentine did not immediately jump to the United States, remaining in Italy and joining the Bologna Vitus Basketball Club. Coach Messina's original aim was to make Ginobili a qualified off-the-beaten-track shooting guard, but in the end he squeezed out Serbian star Sasha Danilovic to take the position.
In 2001, Ginobili led Bologna Vitus to win the Italian Basketball League, the Italian Basketball Cup, and the Euroleague Basketball League, and was elected MVP of the European Basketball League.
When Ginobili finally decided to make the leap in 2002 and join the Spurs led by Tim Duncan and Popovich, all the myths began there. He is not only an indispensable member of the four champions, but also a player with all kinds of martial arts. At first, he doesn't look like the kind of player who is impressive, but when you often see him off the bench lighting up the way for the Spurs, you reconsider that he's a one-of-a-kind microwave scorer and the heart and soul of one of the best teams the NBA has ever had.
A talented scorer who played for the San Antonio Spurs for 16 years, the dunk jun sometimes felt that Ginobili was not getting the appreciation he deserved. The legendary Spurs who have managed to beat O'Neal the Sharks, Bryant and James the Little Emperor in so many important games might not have had such a glorious dynasty without the Argentine coming forward.
In addition, candidates for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame include five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, four-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Swain Cash, NCAA West Virginia University head coach Bob Huggins and former NBA coach George Carr.
Despite the respect he deserves for these legends, Ginobili is undoubtedly the number one among them. His outstanding performances on the international stage enhanced his qualifications, so much so that from the moment he retired, he almost locked in his qualifications.
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