Manu Ginobili was Really Amazing in 2005

[Point-Forward]

Just wanted to share with you a half an hour compilation I made showcasing Ginobili's greatness during the 2005 NBA Playoffs. The video is divided into five different parts (driving to the basket, shooting, passing, defense and getting to the free throw line) to capture his whole game and impact, and in between mixed there's around 30 quotes from teammates, rivals, coaches and journalists that help understand how good he was during that whole championship run. This has to be his absolute peak.

There's never too much of celebrating Manu's greatness, so...there you go. In my mind he's definetely one of the greatest 75 players in NBA history. Not a single doubt about that.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this.

Watch on YouTube

[Update EDIT]:

A half an hour compilation showing Manu's incredible drives to the basket in Playoff action throughout his career:

Watch on YouTube

[Update EDIT 2]:

Close to one hour of highlights of my man Manu with Argentina:

Watch on YouTube

[gottamakeit]

Ginobili is GOAT in terms of putting team in front of himself.

He def had the skills to be in the top 75

[Kingdibs19]

Lol @ Klay so upset at not being too 75 when guys like Manu, Parker, Tmac and Dwight did not make it. Prime Manu was a beast.

[Kobeskillz]

Was that the year Duncan was injured? He was a beast. Some people had him over Kobe even. Though he broke down with all that work load and he even mentioned how tough it was which is what separates talents like him from the Kobe’s and Lebrons. The workload ain’t no joke.

[Wallace_Wallace]

Yeah, I don't want to reminded, especially in the finals.

[mhd]

He deserved Reggie's spot. A much better all around player (who was a part of a dynasty).

[Harry Garris]

He deserved Reggie's spot. A much better all around player (who was a part of a dynasty).

Why Reggie's spot? You don't have to replace someone on the all time list with another player who played the same position. It was just the 75 greatest players in whatever shape or form they happened to be in.

[scrabbarista]

The three seasons from 2005-2007, only Dirk and Manu finished Top 5 in WS/48 in all three seasons. Three seasons is a pretty big sample size. I think from 2005-2007 he was one of the very best players in the league.

Manu lost a lot of his statistical resume because his first year in the league was his 25 year-old season. Still won four titles, though.

I'd probably rank him between 60th and 65th all-time, but (presumably) even higher if he'd come into the league at 21 like a normal player.

PS Don't sleep on that defense!

PPS I'd probably rank Reggie between 51st and 55th. He's generally underrated. That's talking whole careers, though.

PPPS I never bothered looking at the Top 75 list and probably never will. From what I've heard, I might disagree with more than 1/3 of it. Life's too short to be bothered...

[Statlanta]

Would Manu be the 2 way playmaker he was if he played star level minutes 40+ in the playoffs like the other 2000s stars?

[pacers33]

He deserved Reggie's spot. A much better all around player (who was a part of a dynasty).

Watch on YouTube

[Bornstellar]

Thanks for the video OP. Manu is one of the most underrated players ever and on a minute by minute basis was probably one of the most impacful players ever. Manu has always been the king of advanced stats

[Bornstellar]

I also want to point out that the whole "Manu couldn't play heavy minutes" thing is really played out and a tired excuse. Manu had his issues with injuries but people act like he was routinely missing the playoffs or missing large swaths of the season every year. Except for the 2009 season he never really sat out of meaningful games with injuries, and a lot of the times he was out was Pop being precautious with his minutes because he played balls to the wall every second he was on the court.

If you look at his MPG in the playoffs he was routinely playing 32+ minutes in his prime, which is what most guys play nowadays. The fact that he gets discredited as being some injury prone guy incapable of playing big minutes has always bothered me, because Pop chose to restrain his minutes in the season and somehow Manu gets punished for that

[nate33]

I also want to point out that the whole "Manu couldn't play heavy minutes" thing is really played out and a tired excuse. Manu had his issues with injuries but people act like he was routinely missing the playoffs or missing large swaths of the season every year. Except for the 2009 season he never really sat out of meaningful games with injuries, and a lot of the times he was out was Pop being precautious with his minutes because he played balls to the wall every second he was on the court.

If you look at his MPG in the playoffs he was routinely playing 32+ minutes in his prime, which is what most guys play nowadays. The fact that he gets discredited as being some injury prone guy incapable of playing big minutes has always bothered me, because Pop chose to restrain his minutes in the season and somehow Manu gets punished for that

Also, the Spurs always wanted Manu to play with the 2nd unit to give them a #1 option. It's really hard to start and then remain on the court for all of the 2nd unit minutes, so Manu didn't start. But if you don't start, it's really hard to log 36 minutes a game unless you play 18 consecutive minutes, which nobody does.

[dhsilv2]

Would Manu be the 2 way playmaker he was if he played star level minutes 40+ in the playoffs like the other 2000s stars?

05-11 Manu's 32.8 MPG..7 more minutes a game might have lead to injuries I suppose...but it wasn't like he was playing 25 minutes a game.

[mixerball]

the man who presumably doesnt care about 75 is a no brainer for it

forget 75... one of THE greats. the ultimate "stats dont tell a whole story" guy, ultimate competitor, ultimate finisher, ultimate winner. everywhere he played, winning and championships happened.

manu, my favorite player of all time.

[Doranku]

He had a real legitimate case for FMVP that year. 19/6/4 on a blistering 64% TS (Spurs shot 52% TS as a team that series, Duncan was 21/14/2 on 47% TS). Easily the best player on either team in game 7 too, 23/5/4 on 8-13 shooting compared to Duncan's 25/11/3 on 10-27 shooting. He deserves more credit for what he did in the finals against that vaunted Pistons defense.

[Texas Chuck]

I also want to point out that the whole "Manu couldn't play heavy minutes" thing is really played out and a tired excuse. Manu had his issues with injuries but people act like he was routinely missing the playoffs or missing large swaths of the season every year. Except for the 2009 season he never really sat out of meaningful games with injuries, and a lot of the times he was out was Pop being precautious with his minutes because he played balls to the wall every second he was on the court.

If you look at his MPG in the playoffs he was routinely playing 32+ minutes in his prime, which is what most guys play nowadays. The fact that he gets discredited as being some injury prone guy incapable of playing big minutes has always bothered me, because Pop chose to restrain his minutes in the season and somehow Manu gets punished for that

Also, the Spurs always wanted Manu to play with the 2nd unit to give them a #1 option. It's really hard to start and then remain on the court for all of the 2nd unit minutes, so Manu didn't start. But if you don't start, it's really hard to log 36 minutes a game unless you play 18 consecutive minutes, which nobody does.

Comparing his minutes to today instead of his peers feels like the wrong way to go. I definitely think that talking about his minutes played is a fair criticism.

However, if he was playing 34-36 mpg and starting instead of 28-30 and coming off the bench, we'd be talking about Manu alongside Kobe and Wade. He was that kind of high impact player. He would have way more all-NBA, all-star, all-D accolades that his play warranted and he would be seen entirely differently.

From 05-12 this was a bad, bad man. And he wasn't too bad before and after those years either.

[GregOden]

Manu Ginobilis advanced stats were bonkers in his prime. Multiple years of DRTNG in the 90s. Thats dpoy numbers from a backcourt player. And his offensive efficiency was up there, in the 118+ range.

[draftnightsuit]

He deserved Reggie's spot. A much better all around player (who was a part of a dynasty).

Why Reggie's spot? You don't have to replace someone on the all time list with another player who played the same position. It was just the 75 greatest players in whatever shape or form they happened to be in.

Reggie is the most overrated player of all time. He’s an all-time great because he had a couple of good playoff games against the Knicks.

[Point-Forward]

He had a real legitimate case for FMVP that year. 19/6/4 on a blistering 64% TS (Spurs shot 52% TS as a team that series, Duncan was 21/14/2 on 47% TS). Easily the best player on either team in game 7 too, 23/5/4 on 8-13 shooting compared to Duncan's 25/11/3 on 10-27 shooting. He deserves more credit for what he did in the finals against that vaunted Pistons defense.

I would have given it to him.

And he was key throughout the whole Playoffs actually. For example, in the semifinals against Seattle he came up with a huge Game 5 performance when the series was tied 2-2 and the Spurs were looking really rusty offensively. He renergized them completely.

Was that the year Duncan was injured? He was a beast. Some people had him over Kobe even. Though he broke down with all that work load and he even mentioned how tough it was which is what separates talents like him from the Kobe’s and Lebrons. The workload ain’t no joke.

Yeah, was struggling with some ankle issues that year. He still played pretty good, but not 2002 & 2003 level and it was obvious.