How good was Manu Ginobili? Would he have been seen as a superstar if he played on another team? Why did he come off the bench and play fewer minutes? And wa...
The two seasons where ginobli started more than 60 games he was an all-star. Think it was pretty obvious by anyone with eyes that had the spurs started him he would have been a perennial all-star all-nba.
The vast vast majority of players his caliber or better throughout NBA history would not have accepted coming off the bench. He sacrificed his ego and pride bc he was the ultimate team player and all he cared about was winning.
problem is that most people with eyes weren’t watching spurs games. the team got the boring tag -which was pretty fair during the years were Duncan had to hard carry- but after the 04 playoffs Popovich understood he had to change and allow Parker-Ginobili to form a real big three with TD. those two were one of the most entertaining backcourts in the league for years but they flew under the radar of the media, shout-out to Sir Charles tho.
but while Ginobili clearly had the talent to be an all-nba player for the duration of his peak (04-11) i don’t think his body would’ve held. he had been playing professionaly since he was 18 and was playing regularly with his national team in the offseason.
The two seasons where ginobli started more than 60 games he was an all-star. Think it was pretty obvious by anyone with eyes that had the spurs started him he would have been a perennial all-star all-nba.
The vast vast majority of players his caliber or better throughout NBA history would not have accepted coming off the bench. He sacrificed his ego and pride bc he was the ultimate team player and all he cared about was winning.
problem is that most people with eyes weren’t watching spurs games. the team got the boring tag -which was pretty fair during the years were Duncan had to hard carry- but after the 04 playoffs Popovich understood he had to change and allow Parker-Ginobili to form a real big three with TD. those two were one of the most entertaining backcourts in the league for years but they flew under the radar of the media, shout-out to Sir Charles tho.
but while Ginobili clearly had the talent to be an all-nba player for the duration of his peak (04-11) i don’t think his body would’ve held. he had been playing professionaly since he was 18 and was playing regularly with his national team in the offseason.
It DID bother him. Who wouldn’t want to start in their field. He accepted the role and played harder than ever afterwards.