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San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili today announced that he will retire after a 23-year professional career.

In 16 seasons with the Spurs, Ginobili captured four NBA championships while posting a career winning percentage of .721 (762-295), which is the best winning percentage in NBA history among players who have appeared in at least 1,000 games.

Ginobili, who was selected by San Antonio with the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, appeared in 1,057 career games, averaging 13.3 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.32 steals in 25.4 minutes. He is the Spurs all-time leader in three-pointers made (1,495) and steals (1,392), while ranking third in games played (1,057), fourth in assists (4,001), fourth in free throws made (3,380) and fifth in points (14,043). Ginobili was named to the All-NBA Third Team in both 2008 and 2011 and was a two-time All-Star (2005 and 2011). The 2008 NBA Sixth Man of the Year is the first sixth man, as well as the first South American, to earn All-NBA honors.

The four-time NBA champion appeared in 218 career playoff games, averaging 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.34 steals in 27.9 minutes. Ginobili and LeBron James are the only two players in NBA postseason history with at least 3,000 points and 300 three-pointers in the playoffs. One of 10 players ever to appear in over 200 playoff games, he came off the bench 165 times and is the all-time leader in NBA postseason history as a reserve in points (2,014), assists (576), rebounds (635), steals (205), field goals made (630), three-pointers made (226) and free throws made (528). Ginobili and teammate Tony Parker combined to record 132 playoff wins together, which is the most victories by any duo in postseason history.

Ginobili is one of just seven players in NBA history to spend his entire career with one team while playing at least 16 seasons, along with Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, John Havlicek, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki and John Stockton. He is the first South American and just the second player drafted in the second round or later to appear in at least 1,000 games with one team.

Before signing with the Spurs in the summer of 2002, Ginobili played professionally in Argentina and Italy. He was named the 2001 EuroLeague MVP after leading Virtus Bologna to the EuroLeague Championship. In addition, Ginobili was named the Italian League MVP in both 2000–01 and 2001–02.

Ginobili played for the Argentinian National Team from 1998 to 2016, leading his home country to the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, a silver medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. Ginobili is one of only two players in history, along with Bill Bradley, to win a EuroLeague title, an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal.

His conclusion: It's time to pull the curtain down on one of the sports' most entertaining long-running shows.

For a franchise, a coach, a city, that adores Ginobili, it's tough news to take.

"I don't want him to ever retire," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in 2017. "I want to squeeze every last ounce of juice I can. I'm going to use him like a bar of soap until there's nothing left."
But Popovich hinted last season that he knew it would likely be Ginobili's last.

"I try to touch him before every game and remember what he's meant to us over the years and how significant a factor he has been in our success," Popovich said. "I think I'm enjoying him more than ever because I feel like I'm about to lose him."

He was right.

Ginobili bows out just a month after his 41st birthday, making him the oldest player in franchise history. Remarkably, he averaged 8.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 65 games last season.

But what stood out more than anything about Emanuel David Ginobili was his full-throttle approach to the game.

While he lost his hair during his long career, his drive never diminished one bit....

After signing him in July 2002, they soon learned they had a player with the highest of motors. Ginobili was cutthroat competitor whose skill set included unorthodox, breakneck drives to the basket — often via the Euro-step he made famous — to go with a smooth 3-point stroke.

And then there was his passing. He threw behind his back, through opponents' legs and could do a no-look laser every bit as those fired by "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Nicknamed "El Contusion" by teammate Brent Barry for his ability to sustain bumps and bruises with his reckless play, Ginobili was a key backup for the 2002-03 title team, averaging 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and nearly 3 assists per game in the playoffs.

Ginobili also holds a special place in team lore for the way he has gone out of his way to support and nurture younger players. That unselfishness resulted in younger players affectionally calling him "Gramps" and joking that "Grandpa Juice" has been the key to his ageless play.

"Manu is as good a teammate an anybody I have ever had," Kerr once said. "He is just an amazing human being."

GREY 1769 wrote:Yesterday I was a bit miffed at his two year contract not being honoured. His agent said Manu was weary of the travel but I thought well if you sign a two year deal, you think of that ahead of time. Outside of injuries, it's supposed to mean something when you commit to that. And that talk with Pop sounded more like Manu announcing his intentions rather than their discussing where his place on the team could be. It was widely reported that Manu would return if his family was ok with it and if the Spurs needed him, and the latter was a clear yes. But if a player doesn't have that desire anymore, and if he had to be talked into staying, well then it's not ideal for both sides.