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its all true awesome post man u draw?
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba...inobili-no-29/
Top 50: Manu Ginobili, no. 29
You have no clue how good Manu is. You really don’t.
Underrated. It might be the most overused word in sports. As hoop-aholics we always beat our chests and stand on the curb shouting about how our favorite player gets no love. Therein lies the roundball rub. Our arguments are often dismissed because of our allegiances. This case for Manu Ginobili’s greatness can’t be. Why? Because as a Houston native, I loathe the San Antonio Spurs. I can assure you that no bias exists here. I went to college twenty-five minutes away from San Antonio and had to listen every day about the San Antonio Spurs dynasty. I made it my mission to debunk the fantasies Spurs had about their team. The thing is that the more you examine Manu’s career, the better he becomes. In fact, Manu may be the most underrated, there’s that word again, player of our generation.
Fact: Kanye West can cry about how a VMA was robbed from Beyonce but one of the truly great steals in history came when the Spurs grabbed Manu Ginobili with the 57th pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. Let me throw out a stat, seeing as we spent the last few weeks drinking the champagne of greatness that was Michael Jordan’s career. Manu is only the second player ever to win a NBA Championship, Euroleague le and Olympic gold medal. But you still don’t get it.
Seeing is believing and anyone who saw the San Antonio Spurs fall apart in the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks last year got a huge dose of how important Manu is to the team’s success. Say what you want about the addition of Richard Jefferson. Give deserved praise to Tim Duncan as the greatest power forward ever. Gasp at Tony Parker’s speed and emergence as a team leader. A run at an NBA le begins and ends with Manu Ginobili.
And what’s funny is that as NBA fans we only got a partial glimpse of the picture. Before he came to the Association, The Argentine was tearing it up in Argentina and the Italian League. MVPs? He’s got them, winning the 2001 Euroleague Final Four MVP. He was only voted one of the thirty-five greatest players ever but we don’t want to talk about that. The NBA is king, oh wait, except when Manu led Argentina to Gold in the 2004 Olympics. Yeah, he was the MVP of that also. Perhaps it’s Manu’s foreign origins that make us shy away from him. You make the call.
If that wasn’t enough, the most exciting player in S.A. is the first sixth man to win All-NBA honors. If Ben Gordon is worth over $50 million, what is Manu’s value? You can’t put a price on it. Unlike Gordon, who is at his best when he is coming off the bench, Manu has proven he could dominate as a starter. The stats don’t lie. In a five-game stretch as a starter last season, he averaged 34.4 points per game and 6.6 assists per game in 37.4 minutes per game. Efficiency, Manu is thy name.
How well-rounded is Ginobili’s offensive game? A New York Times article regarding Shane Battier, the defensive student of the game that he is, studied the very subject. Battier is given data to study every opponent. The results speak for themselves. “Manu Ginobili is a statistical freak: he has no imbalance whatsoever in his game,” the article offers. “There is no one way to play him that is better than another. He is equally efficient off the dribble as he is off the pass, going left and right and any spot from on the floor.” It’s true. You’re just as likely to get beaten by a quick slash to the lane as you are a bucket from behind the line when it comes to Ginobili. He can score from anywhere. On any other team he would be a perennial All-Star.
But it’s not about that. See, unlike other players who are too caught up in the “importance” of getting starter’s minutes (see Allen Iverson), Manu Ginobili kills ‘em softly any way the team needs him. He doesn’t mind letting Timmy and Tony have their names on the marquee, even though he could lead the team in points and assists. He just keeps on keeping on and counts the championship rings at the end of the day.
The word clutch has become synonymous with Kobe Bryant but it’s an undeserved association. Yeah, you guessed it, Manu’s the real heir to the last minute throne. Forbes did a study chronicling the top players in the last five minutes of a game including overtime. It wasn’t even close. Manu topped the list and shoots lights out at a 57.4% clip. Your boy Kobe? 44.8%. Do I have your attention yet?
The only thing that can stop Manu Ginobili is his health and he has suffered a few setbacks in the past few years. The 2008-2009 season ended unceremoniously for him as he had to shut it down with a stress fracture in his right distal fibula. That only means you’ll be sleeping on him this upcoming season, just like the majority of us have slept on the Spurs all these years. So when you are watching the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals next season, perhaps against the defending champion Lakers, don’t be shocked if Manu slaps the taste out of your mouth with a game-winning three. The quiet ones always sneak up on you. The funny thing is you’ll be the one left speechless. Manu Ginobili has been doing it his entire career and yet we still can’t find words to describe him. For now, underrated will have to do.
its all true awesome post man u draw?
, this makes the wait for the reg season even harder. Why did he have to remind me of all Ginobili's accomplishments!?! And of the hypothetical scenario where he was on another team. If he'd been drafted by Nellie's Warriors or Antoni's Suns, would he be considered a better player? He'd definitely get to focus on one end of the court a lot more.
Or, and typing it makes me want to, the Lakers had picked him? They already had Kobe and Shaq (plus some other great players I just can't remember), adding Manu, who gets to play alongside the greatest SG of this generation, as well as the greatest C of this gen as well? Fuggedabout it.
^ Agree
If Ginobili goes back to his all-star self, the Spurs would be invincible. The season cannot start soon enough.
A run at an NBA le begins and ends with Tim Duncan.
Anyways he can't grow some hair back to his central head.
Manu is a diferent maker
And all spurs fans should be glad he is playing for the spurs and cherish every game because he won't be forever.
Thats one of the best articles on Manu i've read. Can't wait till next season.
Maybe he should talk to Karl Malone. He might have the answer.
He's a freak of nature.
Great piece.
I wonder where Forbes got this:
Manu shot 39.6% in the clutch last season (according to 82games.com) and Kobe 45.7%.Forbes did a study chronicling the top players in the last five minutes of a game including overtime. It wasn’t even close. Manu topped the list and shoots lights out at a 57.4% clip. Your boy Kobe? 44.8%.
Ahh..never mind. They used 82games.com stats from 07-08.
Last year Duncan was #3 on the list, Manu #14 and Parker #21. We already know Manu is ranked significantly lower this season (although I'm ready to believe they will wish they had ranked him higher), and I'm ready to believe Duncan will go down a fewspots and Parker up a few.
Great read. I really hope that Manu is healthy this season.
MANU= top 10 SG EVER
50. Allen Iverson
49. Josh Howard
48. Jameer Nelson
47. Ben Gordon
46. OJ Mayo
45. Jason Kidd
44. Rudy Gay
43. Baron Davis
42. Ron Artest
41. Kevin Martin
40. Josh Smith
39. Lamarcus Aldridge
38. Rashard Lewis
37. Antwan Jamison
36. Ray Allen
35. Hedo Turkoglu
34. Gilbert Arenas
33. Lamar Odom
32. Carlos Boozer
31. David West
30. Shaquille O'Neal
http://www.slamonline.com/online/cat...online-top-50/
Excellent read.
I'm wacking off to this.
Manu is the man!
When did this happen?The stats don’t lie. In a five-game stretch as a starter last season, he averaged 34.4 points per game and 6.6 assists per game in 37.4 minutes per game.
I see that he started 7 games last year and only totaled 98 points in those games (and shot 42%).
Feb 11-23 2008
She just likes Tony better... nothing new.
@ Tony
I actually think Manu deserves to be higher the list. I just didn't remember him scoring that much last year -- so I was wondering where the writer was getting his information. The article is apparently based on the season before last -- that's why I was confused.
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