Manu Ginobili was Really Amazing in 2005

[Ballings7]

Manu in 2004-2005 was epic and for sure his best season -- really fun..

Regular season, that game in January, the 21st (I believe ) double OT vs phoenix, on the road, on ESPN, where he scored 48 pts for his career-high was awesome.. one of my fav games ever.

Spurs won that game.

Here are some highlights from it, of Manu:

Watch on YouTube

Bill Walton calling the game makes it even more fun.

Also multiple posts are available of the full game on there. Highly recommened, and a classic game from the regular season with some special, dynamic players in their prime. Duncan was big too in that game, along with Marion. Brent Barry I think just killed it late with a flurry of shots, too.

Manu also always just destroyed Phoenix SSOL Suns, until maybe 2007 when they got Raja Bell who slowed him down some times, being one of the better defenders against him before that .. but definitely not enough, as 2007 still showed.

[Bornstellar]

Manu in 2004-2005 was epic and for sure his best season -- really fun..

Regular season, that game in January, the 21st (I believe ) double OT vs phoenix, on the road, on ESPN, where he scored 48 pts for his career-high was awesome.. one of my fav games ever.

Spurs won that game.

Here are some highlights from it, of Manu:

Watch on YouTube

Bill Walton calling the game makes it even more fun.

Also multiple posts are available of the full game on there. Highly recommened, and a classic game from the regular season with some special, dynamic players in their prime. Duncan was big too in that game, along with Marion.

Manu also always just destroyed Phoenix SSOL Suns, until maybe 2007 when they got Raja Bell who slowed him down some times, being one of the better defenders against him before that .. but definitely not enough, as 2007 showed.

That was my all-time favorite regular season game. Man, I remember that like it was yesterday

Here's another one of my favorite Manu regular season games:

Watch on YouTube

[mynameKIM]

Top 75. First ballot HOF. And one of the more entertaining player to watch in nba history.

[Big J]

Pre bald spot Manu was a monster.

[maradro]

Top 75. First ballot HOF. And one of the more entertaining player to watch in nba history.

and revolutionary too with his no mid-range shot selection, eurostep, he shattered every stereotype about foreign guards.

the 24 straight points vs atlanta video someone posted, manu broke an MJ record for consecutive points, it got overshadowed though because lebron immediately broke manu's new record with his impressive 25 straight vs pistons.

everyone says theyll do anything to win, manu actually did. sacrificed his numbers greatly, just look at his career starter/bench splits he played better as a starter, or how he would step up hugely when duncan / parker were not playing.

the crazy thing about manu is that he usually took well below 15 shots a game. between the spurs pace, the big 3, and being an unselfish winner he seldom took 20+ like most stars do.

in 2005 the most shots he took in the whole playoff run was 22. manu has 17 games in his entire career, regular season and playoffs with 22 or more shot attempts.

wade has 150. joe johnson 88. ray allen 94. paul pierce 110. vince carter 221. AI 410. kobe 455. even shawn marion has 54, and these are regular season only results!

and even with a ridiculous 12.4 fga in 2005 playoffs, he had 4.2 winshares (31 highest ever), .260WS/48 (67 highest ever), 9.2 BPM (79th highest ever), 2.2 VORP (32 highest ever). most of the players above him are well over 20fga in their superior seasons, there's a reason manu had such crazy impact stats despite not having the scoring numbers of his peers

thanks for the vid!

[scrabbarista]

Manu only has 17 games in his entire career, regular season and playoffs, with 22 or more shot attempts.

wade has 150. joe johnson 88. ray allen 94. paul pierce 110. vince carter 221. AI 410. kobe 455. even shawn marion has 54. And that's regular season only!

Bruh, that's one of the craziest stats I've seen in my entire life. For you kids who didn't see him live, we're talking about a player who unquestionably had the talent to lead the league in scoring at his peak.

That's truly a mind-blowing stat and really puts the whole "unselfish" thing about Manu into perspective. I'm kind of shocked, tbh.

[turnaroundJ]

one of the toughest guards i've ever seen. manu always looked like he was going to war on the court. he was a talented passer, driver, and finisher. but he also had this tendency to make random crazy errant plays or passes for some reason. no big deal though.

i have no doubt that he could've led a team as a number 1 option and average 25 points or so. i wish i got to see him under a different coach who would let him play more freely. but that's what pop does to some players.

[mattg]

Prime Manu attacking the basket was a thing of beauty. I was in high school in the early 2000s and that was when I really started watching NBA basketball intently and seriously...Manu was one of those players who jumped off the TV screen based on the eye test (and at the time I knew nothing of him or how impressive his advanced statistics were or anything). His craftiness, tenacity, hustle, and overall skill level were a treat.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

I remember when the first on/off stats came out, from APM to RAPM, in the mid 2000s or so.
In the first 4-5 years there were always the same 5 guys on op of the ranking: LeBron, Garnett, Dirk, Timmeh and Manu Ginobili.

[lobosloboslobos]

I'd take Manu 1-on-1 vs the vast majority of guys in that top 75 list.

[Point-Forward]

I remember when the first on/off stats came out, from APM to RAPM, in the mid 2000s or so.
In the first 4-5 years there were always the same 5 guys on op of the ranking: LeBron, Garnett, Dirk, Timmeh and Manu Ginobili.

Can you please share the RAPM data here?

I remember checking it out a long time ago and if I'm not mistaken I can recall Manu being #1 on those lists in years like 2007, but I'm having trouble finding that stuff again. Would be great to have it.

and revolutionary too with his no mid-range shot selection, eurostep, he shattered every stereotype about foreign guards.

the 24 straight points vs atlanta video someone posted, manu broke an MJ record for consecutive points, it got overshadowed though because lebron immediately broke manu's new record with his impressive 25 straight vs pistons.

everyone says theyll do anything to win, manu actually did. sacrificed his numbers greatly, just look at his career starter/bench splits he played better as a starter, or how he would step up hugely when duncan / parker were not playing.

the crazy thing about manu is that he usually took well below 15 shots a game. between the spurs pace, the big 3, and being an unselfish winner he seldom took 20+ like most stars do.

in 2005 the most shots he took in the whole playoff run was 22. manu has 17 games in his entire career, regular season and playoffs with 22 or more shot attempts.

wade has 150. joe johnson 88. ray allen 94. paul pierce 110. vince carter 221. AI 410. kobe 455. even shawn marion has 54, and these are regular season only results!

and even with a ridiculous 12.4 fga in 2005 playoffs, he had 4.2 winshares (31 highest ever), .260WS/48 (67 highest ever), 9.2 BPM (79th highest ever), 2.2 VORP (32 highest ever). most of the players above him are well over 20fga in their superior seasons, there's a reason manu had such crazy impact stats despite not having the scoring numbers of his peers

thanks for the vid!

Great post. Couldn't agree more.

[manou]

Maaan, how much I miss the big three... Manu at his peak was our go to guy. Sometimes, it seemed like he created moves on the fly, it was so fun.

[lambchop]

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.

Yea it must have been tough cause he was coming off that Olympic gold medal run in the summer of 04 too where he put Argentina and a truckload of empanadas on his back. But, as you said, guys like Kobe and Bron sustained those kind of extremely taxing NBA runs for multiple seasons in a row, albeit with less workload when participating in international play.

[Point-Forward]

I'd take Manu 1-on-1 vs the vast majority of guys in that top 75 list.

Maaan, how much I miss the big three... Manu at his peak was our go to guy. Sometimes, it seemed like he created moves on the fly, it was so fun.

He was a beast. There's a type of move featured repeatedly in the video in which he suddenly dribbled the ball behind his back to fake his defender while driving in traffic. Very typical of him. It always amazed me how fast and flawless he was at executing it considering the degree of risk and difficulty involved. Bruce Bowen claimed that move made him completely unpredictable and very tough to defend.

Controlled chaos out there.

Watch on YouTube

[dhsilv2]

Manu only has 17 games in his entire career, regular season and playoffs, with 22 or more shot attempts.

wade has 150. joe johnson 88. ray allen 94. paul pierce 110. vince carter 221. AI 410. kobe 455. even shawn marion has 54. And that's regular season only!

Bruh, that's one of the craziest stats I've seen in my entire life. For you kids who didn't see him live, we're talking about a player who unquestionably had the talent to lead the league in scoring at his peak.

That's truly a mind-blowing stat and really puts the whole "unselfish" thing about Manu into perspective. I'm kind of shocked, tbh.

What really blows my mind are the games in the playoffs where his shot was off. Suddenly you see 3 steals and 2 blocks, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and sure he was 4 for 15 or something.

[Yeggo Poleggo]

Manu is highly underrated while Duncan is slightly overrated IMO.

The Spurs were such a well oiled machine under one of the GOATs, Gregg Pop.

[Point-Forward]

Here's a quote from Shea Serrano on Ginobili that I absolutely love (its included in the video also):

But there’s never really been a time when someone was talking about how great Manu is and felt compelled to bring up stats. He’s just not one of those types of players. His basketball essence has always felt more cosmic; more mystical; more indescribable; more enchanted; always threaded into a move he did, or a pass he tried, or a shot he took. You wouldn’t describe him with numbers for the same reasons you don’t describe how beautiful a painting is or how magnificent a song is with numbers.

Source: https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/4/26/17282894/manu-ginobili-future-san-antonio-spurs-nba-playoffs-retirement

[Point-Forward]

Watch on YouTube

[Yoshun]

Reggie really getting some disrespect in this thread.....

[Wolfgang630]

He’s easily a top 75 player