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    Hasta la vista, Manu

    Here's columnist Homer Sayson's tribute to NBA icon Manu Ginobili of Spurs
    Aug 31, 2018
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    CHICAGO - A 6-foot-6, 205-pound dynamo, he had the guts of a high-rise window washer, flailing across NBA arenas with the swiftness of someone who had wings on his Euro steps.

    Concocted in basketball heaven, he was breathtaking to watch, a blend of magic and creativity. He flicked and bounced passes only he could see. And he took improbable, indiscreet shots no one else would dare.

    All throughout his accomplished NBA career - four titles and two All-Star appearances - he played with a reckless enthusiasm that made him a legend in San Antonio and a beloved figure all over the globe.

    Unfortunately for us thrill-seeking hoops denizens, the Manu Ginobili show is now over. Knocked out by the 1-2 punch of age and the impossible physical demands of his sport.

    "I can say that I did it all," the 41-year old Flying Man said in a column he wrote for the Argentinian newspaper La Nacion two days ago. "I played until I felt like it. The truth is that I have nothing left."

    Many words came to mind as I attempted to paint the picture of who Manu Ginobili really was as an NBA player. The adjectives flowed freely, easily. But I eventually settled with a noun.

    Overachiever.

    The average NBA career, according to Business Insider, spans 4.8 years and rakes in $24..7 million in salaries. Manu survived 16 seasons and banked $127.5 million, according to basketballreference.com.

    One of the biggest steals in NBA draft history, the Bahia Blanca, Argentina native was taken 57th overall in the class of 1999. He didn't sign with the Spurs immediately, opting instead to hone his skills in the Italian league.

    But when he finally made his NBA debut on October 29, 2002, he never looked back. Manu appeared in 1,057 regular season games where he averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per. He was a shade better in the playoffs, norming 14 points, 4.0 rebounds 3.8 dimes in 218 contests.

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    If his points production doesn't float your boat, try wading through these facts.

    The third wheel in San Antonio's vaunted Big Three, Manu willingly accepted a reserve role, coming off the bench to provide more balance to an offense that was anchored by the colossal Tim Duncan and the crafty Frenchman, Tony Parker.

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    The 2008 Sixth Man of the Year awardee, his selflessness curtailed his production as he registered just 24.7 career minutes a game while heaving only 9.7 field goals per.

    So when viewed through the lens of minute-by-minute and possession-for-possession efficiency, Manu's numbers rank among the best, pound-for-pound.

    Still, when unrestrained from playing time and field goals limits, Manu is perfectly capable of being a wholesale scorer. He torched the Suns for 48 points last January 21, 2005. And in June later that year, he tallied 23 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, to help the Spurs edge the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

    In a long list of greatest moments, his gold-medal run at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games rises near the peak. Against a U.S. team that paraded Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, Ginobili sizzled for 29 points and led Argentina to a stunning semifinals upset, 89-81.

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    With his Olympic gold harvest, a Euroleague title, plus multiple NBA championships, Ginobili is one of the very few players ever to accomplish basketball's most hallowed trifecta.

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      AS HE RIDES into the glorious sunset, Ginobili insists that retirement isn't a final goodbye, more like a fond farewell.

      Manu, his wife Marianela and their three sons, still live in San Antonio and according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN the Spurs are likely to extend to Ginobili the same standing offer to Duncan, which is to "assume any role he wants."

      No one knows if and when Manu will eventually reincarnate as a Spurs executive or coaching assistant. But everyone can agree that in five years, when his name officially appears in the Hall-of-Fame ballot, he will be honored as among the all-time greats.

      In the winter of 2006, after a Bulls-Spurs game at the United Center, I stood by the arena loading dock waiting to interview Andres Nocioni. I wasn't alone. Manu was there, too, waiting for his fellow Olympian and countryman.

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      With a stack of folding metal chairs hovering over us and a giant team bus idling nearby, I made small talk to Manu.

      It was a lifetime ago. He still had a full head of unruly, sprouting hair while mine was still ink-black, unstained by specks of grey. But I remember him being warm and friendly, a sharp contrast to the daredevil that he had so vividly portrayed on the hard court.

      I have spoken to him again many times since then, conversations that were often fleeting but always cordial.

      Following Duncan's retirement in 2016 and Parker's migration to Charlotte this summer, the last bastion of the Spurs' golden era is gone, too.

      Thanks for the memories, Manu Ginobili.

      Hasta la vista, amigo. Vaya con Dios.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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