Manu Ginóbili

Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili Maccari, born 28 July 1977 in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, played professional basketball for 23 years across Argentina, Italy, and the NBA, and also represented Argentina internationally. A shooting guard, he spent his entire NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs from 2002 to 2018, where he joined Tim Duncan and Tony Parker to form the team's "Big Three," winning four NBA championships together. In April 2022, Ginóbili was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Ginóbili grew up in a basketball family: his father, Jorge, coached at a local club where Manu learned the game, and his older brothers, Leandro and Sebastián, both played professionally. Of Italian descent, he holds both Argentine and Italian citizenship and speaks Spanish, English, and Italian. He married Marianela Oroño in 2004; they have three sons—twins Dante and Nicola, born in 2010, and Luca, born in 2014. A documentary about his life was directed by Rodolfo Lamboglia.

He began his professional career in Argentina with Andino Sport Club in 1995–96, then played for Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca from 1996 to 1998. Moving to Europe, he spent two seasons with Italian club Viola Reggio Calabria, helping the team earn promotion to the top division in 1999. In the 1999 NBA draft, the Spurs selected him 57th overall, but he returned to Italy to play for Kinder Bologna. There, he won the Italian League championship, two Italian Cups, and the 2001 EuroLeague title, earning EuroLeague Finals MVP and two Italian League MVP awards. At the 2002 FIBA World Championship, he made the All-Tournament Team as Argentina finished second.

Ginóbili joined the Spurs for the 2002–03 season. After a slow start due to injury, he earned Western Conference Rookie of the Month in March and All-Rookie Second Team honors. In the playoffs, he became a key part of the rotation as the Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers en route to the NBA Finals. He was named an NBA All-Star in 2005 and 2011, selected to the All-NBA Third Team twice, and won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2007–08. The Spurs made the playoffs in all 16 of his seasons. He is regarded as one of the greatest Latin American players, sixth men, and draft steals in NBA history, and is credited with popularizing the Euro step move in the league.

Internationally, Ginóbili led Argentina to a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he was named FIBA Olympics MVP. Argentina became the only team to eliminate the United States men's national team in Olympic play since NBA players were allowed in 1992. With that gold medal, Ginóbili joined Bill Bradley as the only two players to win a EuroLeague title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

In September 2021, the Spurs appointed Ginóbili as special advisor to basketball operations.