SI article names Manu most entertaining player

[StoneCutter]

I was just in SI's NBA section and there is a short article on the NBA's most exciting players. Manu was named first. The author also states that Manu would do well in a one on one tournament against other NBA players. I am technologically impaired so I don't know how to post the link...just thought I would share something positive with the team not playing so well.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Pretty cool

SI link (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/david_dupree/03/18/all.fun.team/index.html)



As the playoffs approach and the NBA heads into its debate season for individual awards, we sometimes forget that this is still about entertainment. With that in mind, here are my picks for the all-entertainment team -- the five most fun players to watch:

The Spurs' Manu Ginobili heads the list.

He has led, won and excited on every international stage -- Europe, the Olympics and the NBA. Now, the man isn't smooth. He doesn't glide and is all elbows and knees when he goes to the basket, yet he is one of the most difficult players in the league against whom to play. He throws around his body with abandon and is just awkward enough to keep all defenders confused. The fact that he is left-handed, yet uses his right hand almost as often, gives him even more advantages.

He's also a great free-throw shooter and a deadly three-point shooter. Ginobili can get in the lane against any defender, and once there, has a barrelful of moves to get off acrobatic and creative shots in traffic and over bigger defenders. He will flop in a heartbeat, but that doesn't mean he isn't tough. You knock him down, he gets right back up and comes back at you just as hard the next time. (The 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard is just as fearless on defense. He is one of the best in the league at drawing charges and just being annoying and bothersome.) He probably takes as much punishment as any player, yet seldom loses his cool or lets opponents think they got the best of him.

If the NBA had a one-on-one tournament and everyone participated, he'd make the final four, for sure. And it isn't blasphemous to think he could challenge Kobe Bryant or LeBron James for the title.

Sure, he's out of control at times and often drives coach Gregg Popovich crazy, but that's just who and what he is.

Then Lebron, Kobe, etc. are included below Ginobili in the rest of the article.

[StoneCutter]

ManuTim...thanks for posting the link and the article.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

no problem

[DAF86]

thank you guys nice job :tu

[jag]

Suns fans must love him

[m33p0]

... yet seldom loses his cool or lets opponents think they got the best of him.
he's Manu, duh.

[WalterBenitez]

At least we are first in sth!

[Sense]

Finally someone says this.

[milkyway21]

He is one of the best in the league at drawing charges and just being annoying and bothersomeI like it :lol Bravo, Manu! :clap

Hello Coach Karl ?

[bdictjames]

I like the way Manu uses crazy angles to get by opponents.

That guy.. I hope he wins another championship or two either as a Spur or as an Argentinian.

[SouthTexasRancher]

Ginnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooobli...! :madrun

Yahoo sports message boards are like Kindergarten...all preschoolers!


Go Spurs & Longhorns---Kick Butt...!

[Supreme_Being]

Tony Parker.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Nice to see a media type who truly appreciates Manu's genius. :tu

[urunobili]

and then they say we're boring... this one should be saved as one of Manu's milestones articles... really liked it

[lefty]

:elephant :elephant :elephant :toast :clap :clap :clap :ihit :smokin :santahat

[ShoogarBear]

Funny, he also named Gervin as one of his top five ALL-TIME most entertaining players.

[porscha]

:clap :clap :clap

[remingtonbo2001]

Great Article!

Just what the doctor ordered!

It makes you really appreciate the uniqueness of Manu. He is a very special player.

[Deimosfobos]

Nice to see people are starting to realise what we had known for 5 years

[sassystriker]

Sweet!ü Right on.

[slayermin]

Funny, he also named Gervin as one of his top five ALL-TIME most entertaining players.

Shoogar, you do think Ice was entertaining, don't you?

He was bigger than Manu but he used angles in a different way. When he drove to the bucket, his release points on his shots were magical. It seemed like he used that half inch, like Bird, to get off accurate shots that seemed impossible.

And I know you probably seen him live so I am not trying to challenge you as a Spurs fan.

Ice shouldn't be top five but where would you rank him?

[kuato]

Envy me !!! i live near Manu´s home in Bahia Blanca :P

[Princess Pimp]

Spurs are Manu's team

[timvp]

Manu is definitely more exciting than the rest of the Spurs to the tenth power. Duncan using good footwork to make a little flip shot and Parker laying the ball up doesn't really compare to the things Manu does as far as being exciting. This is probably another reason why his popularity among Spurs fans might have actually passed Duncan. To the newbie fan, Ginobili is the player you notice when you watch the Spurs.


The fact that he is left-handed, yet uses his right hand almost as often, gives him even more advantages.I'm not sure who the article was talking about here, though. Manu using both hands equally? WTF kind of scouting report is that?

[romain.star]

sweet and well deserved !!

[whottt]

Shoogar, you do think Ice was entertaining, don't you?

He was bigger than Manu but he used angles in a different way. When he drove to the bucket, his release points on his shots were magical. It seemed like he used that half inch, like Bird, to get off accurate shots that seemed impossible.

And I know you probably seen him live so I am not trying to challenge you as a Spurs fan.

Ice shouldn't be top five but where would you rank him?


Gervin was definitely one of the most fun players to watch ever IMO, he was grace personified and just looked different from everyone else. Plus he was flat out cool. I probably wouldn't be a basketball fan if it wasn't for George Gervin and the fact that he was really fun to watch, even as a kid. He's kind of overlooked because he played in the same era as Bird and Magic...and those two guys are two of the most fun to watch ever.


I do think Manu is more fun to watch though than Gervin. Gervin was fun to watch score, he just made everyone else look like an amateur in comparison because he did it so effortlessly(and this includes compared to guys like Kobe, Jordan and LeBron), and he did it a lot, but Manu is fun to watch in every aspect because he plays fantatically in every aspect.

[smeagol]

Who is this Manu guy you all keep talking about?

[ShoogarBear]

Shoogar, you do think Ice was entertaining, don't you?

He was bigger than Manu but he used angles in a different way. When he drove to the bucket, his release points on his shots were magical. It seemed like he used that half inch, like Bird, to get off accurate shots that seemed impossible.

And I know you probably seen him live so I am not trying to challenge you as a Spurs fan.

Ice shouldn't be top five but where would you rank him?Oh, I definitely agree with Ice being among the top five all-time.

I just think it was kind of sad that on a Spurs board nobody even noticed he was mentioned.

[kuato]

Oh, I definitely agree with Ice being among the top five all-time.

I just think it was kind of sad that on a Spurs board nobody even noticed he was mentioned. ----> Like David Robinson said about TD, spurs fans will know what Manu really is when Ginobili retires.

[Radiosparks]

----> Like David Robinson said about TD, spurs fans will know what Manu really is when Ginobili retires.

Indeed!

[oski1000]

:clap :clap :clap aguante manu!!!!!!!!!

[Nikos]

Duncan using good footwork to make a little flip shot and Parker laying the ball up doesn't really compare to the things Manu does as far as being exciting.

Speaking of Duncan, wtf happened to all of his post moves? I watched some of the Spurs vs Lakers 99 Series and he was doing all sorts of moves. What happened to them? Too much double coverage these days?

Its bad enough he isn't playing as well as 2002-2005 -- but his lack of moves is disappointing.

[Avitus1]

I'm shocked... are they finally getting behind a Spurs player?

[milkyway21]

:ttiwwp:

here's one..
http://images.sportsline.com/u/ap/photos/TXEG109031800_viewer.jpg

block that shot (if you can), P.J. :p: