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Like it matters anyway. Australia and New Zealand are always given a bye in the FIBA World Cup.
Thank you for proving my point. Manu proceeded to miss 40 games and all of the playoffs that season. Spurs were knocked out in the first round. I hope the ty Bronze medal was worth it.
2004 was a fluke year anyway. The majority of the good players from the 2003 US team didn't show up and cancers like Iverson/Marbury were given free reign.
Compe ive players should also rationalize what's more important - Appeasing a minority fanbase in Argentina(most of whom don't care about basketball anyway - soccer will always be the dominant sport there) or the Spurs fans who have been loyal to the franchise for decades.
Like it matters anyway. Australia and New Zealand are always given a bye in the FIBA World Cup.
lol capt hindsight. Proving what point? Breaking a hand on a freak play against Minnesota had how much to do with playing the Olympics, doctor? lmao
And of course it was worth it. That's a country that never had a medal of any kind before 2004 on Basketball. They were actually writing history, both in 2004 and 2008. Any kind of medal was huge.
Doesn't matter. They're the *only* team even today that beat a Team USA made up of NBA players twice. No other international team has pulled that off. Fluke or not, that was a historic team. Even Stern acknowledged that's the team that made Team USA change the culture and the way Team USA put teams together. Wouldn't surprise me at all if that team ends up being inducted in the HoF.
That's actually the opposite from a compe ive player. A compe ive player wants to win everything they play, no matter the odds. They don't do it for "the fans", they do it to embrace the challenge.
And give Gino some credit, he did renounce twice to the NT to get rest.
ElNono is going balls deep into you right now. DAMN!
Meh, I understand every fan wants whatever... the reality is that teams cannot compel players not to play, and teams get an insurance company to pay a player's salary if they get injured during international play.
The reality is that the Spurs will always take the player that's a compe or and wants to win always no matter the cir stances, over the guy that just doesn't care. Even if the "drawback" is having to put up with international play. Makes absolute sense too. If a player always thinks they have no shot, what kind of at ude is that? Respect is fine, having a quitting at ude is just terrible.
That's why you'll continue to see a guy like Parker playing for France, even if France "has no shot"... these are guys that take pride in what they do, they want to compete against the best and want to win.
Can't wait to see how Manu responds from this. Even with his decline he can still continue to be a force if he adjusts his game like Tim has.
Also, considering the expectations for France, I hope Tony is able to lead his team to an upset.
Splitter getting rest this summer is great too.
Easy there big fella. I am cool with El Nono. He's not a bad guy even if he is wrong sometimes. Johnny Ringo is dead right on this one. Argentina hasn't done sh*t since 2004 unless you consider third place worth something. I guess we should all be happy about second place in the Finals by that logic--and I am NOT happy. <ENTER> (Keyboard just died on the ENTER key here...) Also, FIBA rules are bullsh__ and everyone knows it. That's why Timmeh, arguably the BEST BASKETBALL PLAYER in the game right now....will never play internationally ever again. NBA > FIBA NBA > Olympics Ginobili < Blowup Doll vs Heat.
Third place in the Olympics might not be great if you're a loaded team and perennial winner like Team USA, but for a country that never had a medal in Basketball it's huge. Tournament is played only every 4 years, and there's only 3 teams that get up on that podium and bring something back home. I know for a fact none of those guys take that Bronze medal for granted, as they've said many times. There were no Lebron or Kobe in that team.
I know the average American doesn't give two s about the Olympics, but that's not generally the case outside the US. It's considered a huge event, with historical implications.
Plus Manu has said he really enjoys playing with those guys. And bottom line, that's all there is to it. Just like Tony likes playing with the French team, and enjoys his leading role there. They're compe ors, they relish the challenge, the stacked odds.
Whether Spursfan likes it or not, doesn't really matter. The Spurs certainly appreciate guys like that. Guys that didn't have that kind of at ude were dumped pretty quickly (see: Van Exel, Ron Mercer, RJ, etc).
Tony shouldn't play either. He had been playing last 2 or 3 summers in a row and he will play the World Championship next summer for sure. It would be better to rest at least one year. A lot of mileage and he's not young anymore.
Idiots calling into question, possibly the best international player since the Dream Teams from 1996.
Manu Ginobili's achievements for Argentina prove that David killing Goliath could not just have been a myth. Tbh.
Dirk Nowitzki.
And Manu isn't even the best Spanish speaking international. Pau Gasol has had a better NBA career than him - 2nd option on two le teams(with many thinking he deserved the 2010 Finals MVP). Much more durable throughout his first ten years in the league too. He's a TOSB now but so is Manu(I'd argue Ginobili is actually worse - at least Gasol can still play more than 20 mins a game)
It isn't a myth. It is a parable.
at the stupidity here. Off-season ball will ALWAYS affect a player's durability/endurance in the NBA. The freak athletes like Lebron or Kobe can get away with this but Ginobili's one of the most fragile players in NBA history - he should be resting at every opportunity. Instead, he'll heal up after every NBA season, play bull ball for Argentina, and proceed to start the NBA season tired and haggard.
Yeah, appeasing a minority fanbase in Argentina with a third place medal in a bull compe ion is much more important than an NBA trophy for the city that pays for your livelihood. Since 2009, he's missed 100 games and multiple post-seasons and was payed $60 million in that timespan. Ginobili should thank god for all the Mexicans in SA - any other NBA fanbase would have crucified him for the way he's been ing the team over the past few years.
Where has that compe ive spirit been for SA the last two years? It's pretty obvious he's no longer motivated to play NBA ball but will be more than happy to collect a nice paycheck. Though I will admit this is more a mistake on the Spurs part than Manu's. He should have been traded in the 2011 off-season when he still had some value - the team would have been better off.
He wasn't even needed the past two years anyway. In some ways, it's refreshing to see the Spurs play basketball without being so reliant on the health of an injury prone international. Some would even argue SA would have another le right now if Manu had never suited up for any of the Finals games. Definitely explains why they've made more progress in the playoffs by giving Ginobili a reduced role.
Well Manu will live in Argentina for the rest of his life and live with those people where as playing for the Spurs is just a job for him. Do you think he really cares about what people in the NBA think about him.Yeah, appeasing a minority fanbase in Argentina with a third place medal in a bull compe ion is much more important than an NBA trophy for the city that pays for your livelihood. Since 2009, he's missed 100 games and multiple post-seasons and was payed $60 million in that timespan. Ginobili should thank god for all the Mexicans in SA - any other NBA fanbase would have crucified him for the way he's been ing the team over the past few years.
In terms of relevance, he's no Messi. The majority of the Argy population don't even give a about basketball or know who the Manu is.
You're so wrong. My friend is from Argentina. They love basketball.. and considering he is the only relevant (and great) players from there.. he is right about there with Messi (considering they have a fantastic soccer team). Quit talking out of your ass dumbass.
LOL! He played a huge roll in the playoffs just last year. (kill yourself man)
Yeah, appeasing a minority fanbase in Argentina with a third place medal in a bull compe ion is much more important than an NBA trophy for the city that pays for your livelihood. Since 2009, he's missed 100 games and multiple post-seasons and was payed $60 million in that timespan. Ginobili should thank god for all the Mexicans in SA - any other NBA fanbase would have crucified him for the way he's been ing the team over the past few years.
Where has that compe ive spirit been for SA the last two years? It's pretty obvious he's no longer motivated to play NBA ball but will be more than happy to collect a nice paycheck. Though I will admit this is more a mistake on the Spurs part than Manu's. He should have been traded in the 2011 off-season when he still had some value - the team would have been better off.
He wasn't even needed the past two years anyway. In some ways, it's refreshing to see the Spurs play basketball without being so reliant on the health of an injury prone international. Some would even argue SA would have another le right now if Manu had never suited up for any of the Finals games. Definitely explains why they've made more progress in the playoffs by giving Ginobili a reduced role.
doubling down in the absolute stupidity of assigning a *broken hand* to offseason play. Sure, doctor.
and lol @ "one of the most fragile players in NBA history"... He ranks #36 from 2003-2013 in most game played amongst active players. Keep throwing grandiose words backed up by nothing though
So you're saying your mad because Manu doesn't have the same priorities you do?
Sorry, Manu likes playing for his NT, and so does Tony, Diaw, and a bunch of other players. The NBA feels they benefit from that, and so they don't allow teams to have a say on it. Perhaps you're displeased with guaranteed contracts. Well, that's a NBA/union issue. Ginobili has nothing to do with that.
lol @ "pretty obvious"... dude leaves everything out there for the team. He might make mistakes or not, that has nothing to do with playing hard, which he does. If the Spurs see it and you don't, then whose problem is it?
And I'll just defer to RC Bufford when it comes to analyzing what Manu brings to the team and how that's easy to replace or not... apparently the team strongly disagrees with you. I don't have the basketball a en they do, but I'll be inclined to agree with them.
Playing hard is not the same as playing smart. Manu should key on the latter. If he had, we would be champs.
He played well enough to be 28 secs away from a championship. He's played a lot better in the past and we've not been that close. It's a team effort, and ultimately, there's plenty of reasons why we're not champs. Some have to do with Gino, some do not.
Looking forward, he certainly can play better than he did last season. There's no reason he can't at least get his shooting back to his career average. He's going to be here for another two seasons, and he'll keep on having a leading role on the team, so let's hope he can contribute to another run.
I came in here to say just this!!!!! Good post. Do not forget 02 as well! The world championships, the first team to beat USA in so damn long it's crazy! They got a medal as well! That Argie team was legit.He had a key game 5 and that was his best game, otherwise as you said I hope he can do alot better than he did most of the finals next season. Like you said he has played great in the past and we did not come close. It is a team game, I just with we had Vintage MANU in these finals! If that were the case we got it in 5 games or at the MOST 6. There were several reasons we lost the finals down the stretch no doubt, he was just a glaring part of it in game 6 with that 8 TO's (Still should have won it though).
Agreed. We all wish Manu had more game 5s and 7s, and less game 6s. As I said somewhere else (or maybe this thread?), this is the first time he didn't post better numbers in the postseason than in the regular season. And his regular season was fairly pedestrian for the kind of standards a quality player like Manu has. All that said, he was still the #2 assist man by a huge margin after Parker last season. He makes things a lot easier for offensively challenged players like Splitter. I think that's what RC was implying with his comment about Manu's value to the team. That's an area I didn't think that worked very well against Miami, but then again, credit Miami, there's a reason they were the #1 pick and roll defense in the league. And yet, we had game 6. A rebound, a miss, a free throw, and a lot of the current whining wouldn't be here now.
That's why I really can't take too seriously the chicken little analysis (FO clueless, coach sucks, Manu is done, etc). Nobody is happy we lost the Finals, there are no moral victories, mistakes were clearly made, etc, but the type of win or bust analysis that basically equates the Bobcats with the Spurs (neither won a championship last season) isn't serious. I get some Spursfan are pretty spoiled, winning every Finals we've played until last season, but it really isn't the norm with successful teams (you can look back at the Lakers, who lost two, Pistons lost one against us, even this Miami team lost to Dallas on their first dance). In a way, the reaction isn't wholly unexpected, but I think you have to put things in perspective, tbh.
Man Game 6I still want to cry at times when thinking of that nightmare. good post though. My only wish he gets redemption this year and they win the le and everyone can die happy as a sports fan! I love Manu, I wanted him to go the off and we win the le! He had a nightmare series in the finals, , most do if they make it there enough.
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