Manu Ginobili has accomplished more in his basketball career than most players dream of. A stalwart attacker on the San Antonio Spurs, the winningest American pro sports franchise over the last two decades, the 39-year-old Ginobili has also been an international star of huge magnitude. The Argentine forward just played his last international contest for his country, as Argentina bowed out of the 2016 Rio Olympics in the quarterfinals. Ginobili played 20 years for Argentina, helping them win the Olympic gold medal in Athens in 2004.
A slashing South American superstar ironically known for making the “Eurostep” popular in the NBA, Ginobili has always defied definition and excited the fans. TNT announcer Charles Barkley never enjoyed yelling out another player’s name as much as he loved yelling “Ginobili!” during broadcasts. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich once called Ginobili the “most aggressive player” he’s ever seen. Maybe that’s how Argentina unexpectedly won that gold medal in 2004. Otherwise the US hasn’t lost an Olympics since it sent the first Dream Team in 1992.
