Manu Ginobili finished his Hall of Fame career with impressive numbers but stats can’t properly define his greatness. He’ll be remembered as the eccentric hooper with magical moves who helped bring the Euro step to the NBA… even though he’s Argentinian. A pivotal part of the San Antonio Spurs Big Three. Most notoriously, we know Manu as arguably the greatest sixth man in NBA history.
But before we knew Manu as just… Manu, he was a mostly unknown international prospect with a long shot of succeeding in the NBA. A hooper who didn’t appear fit for the league. A guy who was in Popovich’s eyes uncoachable. Let’s meet these versions of Manu Ginobili in the Prism.
Written and produced by: Joe Ali
Directed and edited by: Charlotte Atkinson
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40 Comments
as a Spurs fan I can tell you, he’s not the best player that’s ever played for us but Manu just might be the most loved in our fanbase
the best part of Manu’s legacy is we got to see him gracefully lose all of his hair in real-time
Manu Ginobili is the GLOAT.
Very few players would accept a bench role when they are all star talents. Always respected him for that.
Manu has some of the most exciting highlights out there, Basketball Icon!
He’s a flopper. That’s his legacy.
Manu Ginobili, 1999 NBA Draft Pick #57 (of 58)
Also, the only member of that draft class to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. That class was pretty stacked, too. That shows how great Manu is.
Basketball Courts Names Being Called While Trying To Score in the Early 2000's
Jordan
Shaq
Kobe
T-Mac
Ginobli
You should do a rewinder about the 2005 Champions League Final between AC Milan and Liverpool.
Collapse on the Bills after 4 super Bowls. Collapse on the Falc9ns after Super Bowl 52.
🌟 Tim made me a Spurs fan. Manu kept me as one. #SpursNation
The greatest sixth man of all time ?????? What a joke the greatest BY FAR is Kevin McHale there awards, accolades and stats don’t even compare horrible take
I remember when he got his jersey. Spurs gave him #6 and that was Avery Johnson's number. Fans were upset and quickly got over it
🔥🔥🔥
Thinking Argentina is part of Europe is the most American thing ever 😂😂😂😂
Ngl, it's so much fun saying "Geno-b-lay" 😂😂😂
Manu Ginobili is literally my favorite player. No other player has ever captured my attention that much, or represented the passion of a fanbase so deeply and truly. He embodies everything people like about sports. Thank y'all for doing this!!! From a grateful San Antonian/lifelong Spurs fan.
I'm so glad they put him in the hall of fame. You know for sure the baseball HoF wouldn't give a player like that the respect. But the Spurs don't win all those extra chips after 02 without him
Oh noooow we're cool to talk about again….. lmao.
Man, I fookin hated the Spurs growing up but there's no denying that they built and played a beautiful game that I grew to appreciate.
Also regarding any claims that he was soft on defense, dial back to that era when KG was at a point where he was picking fights with Euros, but nobody else. Manu snatched his soul one night, and ended KG's relevance on the court. One of the most brutal blocks in NBA history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCqefcY7lpI
I’ve played ball since I was five. I never modeled my game after mj or kobe. Manu was the one I studied. In my eyes, he’s the greatest all around basketball player
Funny how far we’ve come, players in countries overseas have truly mastered the skills of basketball playing with pros from a young age and learning to respect the game while over here in the states these young players are pampered straight out of AAU
He’s the greatest 6th man of all time straight up
diff commentator please
The more videos I watch about Pop is making me realize… Pop was a stubborn authoritarian douchebag…
I know there’s no comparison but imagine if he drafted MJ, or LeBron… He probably still would’ve ran a post centric offense and stuck them in a corner so Timmy and David could work.
I can only imagine what Manu could’ve done with steady starter minutes and the freedom to play HIS game
20# Manu Ginóbili
# Drafted Round: 2 / Pick: 57th overall in 1999 Entry Draft by San Antonio Spurs.
# 16 NBA seasons – San Antonio Spurs (2002-2018)
# 3-time NBA League Champion: 2003, 2005 & 2014 (Spurs).
# NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award: 2008.
# 2-time All-NBA Third Team: 2008 & 2011.
# 2-time NBA All-Star Game Player: 2005 & 2011.
# No. 20 retired by San Antonio Spurs.
# Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee: 2022
# EuroLeague Champion: 2001 (Virtus Bologna)
# EuroLeague Finals MVP: 2001.
# 2-time EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer: 2001 & 2002.
# Italian League champion: 2001 (Virtus Bologna)
# 2-time Italian League MVP: 2001 & 2002.
# 2-time Italian Cup winner: 2001 & 2002 (Virtus Bologna)
# Italian Cup MVP: 2002.
# 3-time Italian League All-Star: 1999, 2000 & 2001.
# 2004 Olympic gold medalist (Argentina) + 2008 Olympic bronze.
# 2004 FIBA Summer Olympics MVP.
# 2002 FIBA World Championship silver medalist
# 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball gold medalist + 2004 bronze.
# 2-time FIBA AmeriCup gold medalist: 2001 & 2011 + silver 2003 + bronze 1999
Still remember that 2014 finals when a 39 year old Ginobili dunked on Bosh and on Ray Allen that finals series.
P.s. I also remember the year before when Allen made that 3 in game 6. It would hurt a lot more if the spurs didn’t get retribution the following season
Best 6th Man ever = 6th Best NBA player ever. It's called math. A few years there Manu was the best player around. And that was BEFORE he joined the NBA as a balding rookie after winning everything he could in Europe, FIRST.
Bring back the untitled series
Pop calling Manu “uncoachable” is basically code for “doesn’t want to be my personal doormat”.
Secret base is the best sports channel 😃💪
unkown in europe he played in europe before he played in nba your title is apsurd
Still hoping to see Prism episodes for Ray Lewis, Antonio Brown, Mark McGwire and Mark Messier. More ideas to come soon.
He should have been the MVP of the 2005 Finals. Tim played well, but Manu broke down the Pistons in that series.
It's very funny to know that the spurs try to bully him to test his "toughness". The guy is a argentinian, he is used to dirty plays, hard fouls and mind games. I'm brazilian and in every single sport these guys are that way, very hard nosed.
It’s always good to see people give Manu his flowers that he deserves, one of the most underrated players
Not Argantenian… Argentinian lol… Argentine is the better way to address to him though
“Arguably the best 6th man in history”? Ever hear of John Havlicek?
FUN FACT: Manu has one of the highest winning percentage in the history of the NBA
Manu one of my favorite players ever