Andre Iguodala and Manu Ginobli: 1st Options

Zion Wembanyama · Post #1 » by **Zion Wembanyama** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:07 pm

Iggy and Manu have been complimentary players for pretty much their entire careers, but they both showed flashes of being able to be more, they just weren't on teams built for that for the most part (minus Iggy few seasons in PHI.)

Both players could score the ball, are great play makers, good/great defenders, decent rebounders, Manu is the better shooter, but Iguodala isn't a terrible shooter and they have high bball IQ.

So with that said, what kind of career do you think these two would have, had they been first options for the majority of their careers?

HeartBreakKid · Post #2 » by **HeartBreakKid** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:09 pm

Iggy is definitely a bad shooter dude, don't think that because he can sometimes hit a wide open spot up 3 on GSW that he is any threat outside the paint.

We've seen Iggy, PEAK Iggy as the guy in Philly - and he was a low level all-star.

Manu would pretty much put up James Harden numbers. Manu was pretty much the best Spur between 08-11, and he has killed the playoffs through out his prime, he probably would not play many games but he would probably be a 25 PPG guy at the very least.

dorkestra · Post #3 » by **dorkestra** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:10 pm

Philly did basically try to build a team around Iggy, but it didn't seem like a role that suited his skillset.

Onus · Post #4 » by **Onus** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:13 pm

Iguodala isn't a natural scorer, but he does all of the little things. He's not a no. 1 option type player and is a gross misuse of his skillset. As has been said, Philly tried Iguodala as their no. 1 option and it wasn't pretty.

NickAnderson · Post #5 » by **NickAnderson** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:13 pm

Manu by far

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dorkestra · Post #6 » by **dorkestra** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:15 pm

Manu would have been a really nice first option.

When you consider how good he could have been in that role, it begins to sink in just how much he sacrificed in terms of ego in order to help the team.

otwok · Post #7 » by **otwok** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:16 pm

Depending on the team, Manu could probably take a team to the playoffs if healthy. Iggy did have a team built around him so we know the answer to that question already.

NZB2323 · Post #8 » by **NZB2323** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:16 pm

Ginobili could do well as a 1st option because he can score and pass. In 2008 he averaged 31.1 minutes per game, which is his career high and put up 19.5 points and 4.5 assists with a TS% of 61%. In the 2010 playoffs he averaged 35.2 minutes per game, which was the highest for his career, and put up 19.4 ppg and 6 assists with a TS% of 57%.

Iggy isn't the shooter or creator that Ginobili is, but he has been a much better defensive player.

Bertrob · Post #9 » by **Bertrob** » Fri Oct 13, 2017 9:19 pm

Manu would have been an all-nba player for a couple seasons before breaking down. We saw Iggy as a first option, it wasn't anything special

Chinook · Post #10 » by **Chinook** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:45 am

NZB2323 wrote:Iggy isn't the shooter or creator that Ginobili is, but he has been a much better defensive player.

Manu was arguably better than Iggy. He's never had the role of being a designated defender like Bowen or Beverly, but he has always been a two-way player whose defensive chops can stand with any wing. Even in 2014, he played great D on Durant and Westbrook.

Ginobili's massively underrated. Dude's a HoFer. It's not an insult to say Iggy shouldn't be in the same conversation as Manu.

Kabookalu · Post #11 » by **Kabookalu** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:51 am

Iggy never wanted to be the first option, it was forced onto him by a Philly fanbase that wanted an Iverson replacement. I remember reading a brilliant Grantland article about it. He had the potential and work ethic to be a solid, maybe forgettable, franchise player, but he always aspired to be the do it all complementary player. I believe he even explicitly stated that he'd rather be Pippen than Jordan.

PKABOOICU · Post #12 » by **PKABOOICU** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:52 am

Ginobili was better than Harden. The difference is that Ginobili was on the Spurs which was great for him from a championship/stability stand point, and he was never selfish enough to want a trade and be a 1st option elsewhere. He played both sides of the floor with tenacity, and was an elite passer and a very capable defender. He really didnt have many weaknesses to his game. If you want to nitpick, I would say that he was maybe just an inch or 2 undersized.
If you replace Prime Ginobili with Harden on the current Rockets roster, they're probably a better team, atleast on the defensive side of things. I honestly think Ginobili would have top 3 GOAT SG capability if he was set free and able to do his thing on a different team. He really was that good. Him and Kobe had some good playoff battles. We always talk about Kobe/Tmac, but Kobe/Ginobili was a thing of beauty as well. Even Kobe himself admitted in an interview once that Ginobili was his toughest competitor. He was a legit fan.
Ginobili was no joke in his day. I would take his prime over any player in the league today outside of Lebron and KD, and maybe WB. He was a serious player. To add to that, he wasn't a prima donna at all. Great locker room guy, and just a likable personality overall.

Iggy was never a good 1st option. He's more of a 3rd option in even in his prime. Iggy was more Antawn Jamison than he was Vince Carter.

Warriorfan · Post #13 » by **Warriorfan** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:41 pm

Manu is a HOF intl player Iguadalla not so much.

ropjhk · Post #14 » by **ropjhk** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:08 pm

I could see Manu being a franchise player in his prime. At his peak he was perhaps the second best SG in the league behind Kobe.

dhsilv2 · Post #15 » by **dhsilv2** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:12 pm

Imagine a 6'6 Harden who is a MUCH better finisher at the rim and would more or less finishes with a dunk every time. And now imagine he misses 15+ games every year. That's Manu more or less if his prime were today and he were the man on a team like the rockets.

shanghaifanzi · Post #16 » by **shanghaifanzi** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:29 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:Imagine a 6'6 Harden who is a MUCH better finisher at the rim and would more or less finishes with a dunk every time BETTER DEFENDER. And now imagine he misses 15+ games every year. That's Manu more or less if his prime were today and he were the man on a team like the rockets.

i fixed that for you

youngcrev · Post #17 » by **youngcrev** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:32 pm

On top of just not having the mindset to be a #1 option, Iguodala was never good at creating for himself. Just a bad shooter off the dribble, and not a very good finisher in traffic when he's not dunking the ball. His best scoring season came playing off of Andre Miller getting him looks and getting out in transition a bunch.

dhsilv2 · Post #18 » by **dhsilv2** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:40 pm

shanghaifanzi wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:Imagine a 6'6 Harden who is a MUCH better finisher at the rim and would more or less finishes with a dunk every time BETTER DEFENDER. And now imagine he misses 15+ games every year. That's Manu more or less if his prime were today and he were the man on a team like the rockets.

i fixed that for you

lol, I thought that was a given

Post #19 » by **og15** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 1:42 pm

Iguodala has already had this opportunity, it does not suit him at all, we saw it for 4 seasons from 06/07 to 09/10, so we don't need to imagine what it looks like, it's happened, he's best as a 3rd option, not even a second.

Manu has already shown he can be a first option, he was a go-to scorer and playmaker for the Spurs in many instances, also one we don't need to imagine, we've seen it.

manou · Post #20 » by **manou** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:35 pm

El Manu was scary in his prime when it mattered.
Playoff game, 4th quarter starts, Pop would give him the keys, and you better be prepared for that.