Emanuel Ginobili

| colspan=3 align=center| |
| colspan=3 | Men's Basketball |
| bgcolor="gold"| Gold | 2004 | Basketball |
|
Emanuel David Ginóbili (born July 28, 1977 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina), better known as Manu Ginobili, is an Argentine basketball player. He is a member of the Argentine national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. He is generally regarded as one of the best basketball players ever to come from both Argentina and Latin America.

Biography

Ginóbili comes from a basketball family. Older brothers Sebastian and Leandro have played professionally in Argentina and Spain, respectively, and their father, Jorge, was a coach at a club in Bahía Blanca where Ginóbili learned to play. Like many Argentines, Ginóbili is a descendant of Italian immigrants.

Argentine and Italian years

He made his professional debut in the Argentine basketball league for the Andino Sport Club1 team of La Rioja in the 1995-1996 season, and was traded to Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca the next year. He played with his hometown team until the Italian league attracted him, and in 1998 he moved to Europe, playing in the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 seasons with Basket Viola Reggio Calabria, after which he was traded to Kinder Bologna, which he helped win the 2001 Italian Championship, 2001 and 2002 Italian Cups, and the 2001 Euroleague, where he was named MVP. He also made the Italian league's All-Star game three times during this period.

San Antonio Spurs

In the 1999 NBA Draft, the Spurs selected Ginóbili late in the second round with the 57th overall pick, the penultimate choice in the entire draft. However, he did not sign with the Spurs until after the 2002 Basketball World Championship in Indianapolis, where he made the all-tournament team alongside future NBA star Yao Ming and established NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic. Ginóbili helped lead Argentina to second-place finish. In the years since, some commentators have deemed him the greatest draft day steal in modern NBA history, and perhaps all-time.

In his first season in the NBA, Ginóbili came off the bench to help the Spurs climb to the NBA championship in 2003, when San Antonio beat the New Jersey Nets in six games. He continued to be an effective role player off the bench in 2004 and he became a starter for the Spurs by 2005. On February 8 of the following year, Ginóbili was selected (by a vote of NBA coaches) to the 2005 Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve, his first time making it to the elite midseason showcase. On June 23, Ginóbili won his second title with the Spurs playing as starter on a very defensive 7 games series against the Detroit Pistons, with a game seven score of 81-74. In the NBA Finals MVP Award voting, Manu was barely edged out (6 votes to 4) by teammate Tim Duncan. He was the second leading scorer of that team, finishing a memorable 2004-2005 season for him.

Olympic gold medal 2004

On August 15 2004, Ginóbili led the Argentine team to the gold medal. Ginóbili was named the MVP of the Olympic tournament, sporting heroics like in the 83-82 win over Serbia-Montenegro with a shot he made while falling to the floor with less than a second to go, in Argentina's basketball opener at the Olympic Games in Athens. The Argentina team went on to win the gold medal, with Ginóbili leading the team in both scoring (19.3 ppg) and assists (3.3 apg).

Player profile

Ginóbili is a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) player who can shoot in offense, is a passer and plays defense. He is a left-hander who is also adept at going to his right. Ginóbili is known for his up-tempo style of play, his passing, and behind-the-back moves when attacking the basket. He also makes dunks with either hand, taking advantage of his first step. His modus operandi (for example, lowering his head while driving toward the basket, and willingness to draw charges on defense) is the source of much consternation for opponents, among the most vocal of whom have been coach George Karl of the Denver Nuggets.

Notes

*Ginóbili is the only player in basketball history to win the Euroleague, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA Championship ring.
*He is also the second Latin American to be selected for the All-star game, after Panama's Rolando Blackman, though Ginobili played as a reserve.
*As of January 18, 2006, Ginobili is averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assits and 26.8 minutes per game.
*During the 2005 Playoffs, Ginóbili and teammate Tony Parker starred in an NBA-produced ad promoting the Finals where NBA players phoned in to the "Love Doctor" (portrayed by NBA legend Julius Erving) to get advice and to give their opinions about how much they loved the trophy.

Titles

*2001 Italian League Championship (Kinder Bologna)
*2001 Italian Cup (Kinder Bologna)
*2001 Euroleague (Kinder Bologna)
*2001 Americas Championship (Argentina)
*2002 Italian Cup (Kinder Bologna)
*2003 NBA Championship (San Antonio Spurs)
*2004 Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal (Argentina)
*2005 NBA Championship (San Antonio Spurs)

Awards

*1999 Italian League All-Star
*2000 Italian League All-Star
*2000 Italian League Most Improved Player
*2001 Italian League All-Star
*2001 Italian League Most Valuable Player
*2001 Euroleague Most Valuable Player
*2002 Italian Cup Most Valuable Player
*2002 Italian League Most Valuable Player
*2002 Ideal Indianapolis World Cup Team
*2004 Ideal Olympics Team
*2004 Summer Olympic Games Most Valuable Player
*2005 NBA All-Star
*2005 Nike Baller Of The Year (fan poll)

*Official site in English
* Web Oficial en español
*NBA profile
*
*A Manu Ginóbili Fan Page (English)
*SportingNews Article
*Bballcentral.com - Argentinian Force: Manu Ginóbili
*another Manu Ginóbili fan site in English

Ginobili, Emanuel
Ginobili, Emanuel
Ginobili, Emanuel
Ginobili, Emanuel
Ginobili, Emanuel
Ginobili, Emanuel
Ginobili, Emanuel
Ginobili, Emanuel

de:Emanuel Ginóbili
es:Emanuel Ginobili
fr:Emanuel Ginobili
it:Emanuel Ginobili
he:?????? "????" ?'???????
pl:Manu Ginóbili

The Wikipedia article is licensed under http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html and uses material from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Ginobili. A preview of this article is available at http://www.blinkbits.com/en_wikifeeds/Emanuel_Ginobili.