MADRID, 11 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The former Argentine player Manu Ginóbili has entered the Basketball Hall of Fame this morning, in a ceremony at the Symphony Hall in Springfield (United States) in which the Class of 2022 was welcomed, of which the also former players Tim Hardaway, Lou Hudson, Theresa Shank-Grentz and Radivoj Korac, coaches George Karl, Bob Huggins, Marianne Stanley and Del Harris, players Swin Cash and Lindsay Whalen and former referee Hugh Evans.
Presented by Tim Duncan, the former San Antonio Spurs player thanked the NBA for putting “the great context” in his path that has helped him build a career. “I am here for having been part of a team, one of the most important of the 2000s, not because of individual achievements, and for having won gold with Argentina and the Euroleague. But also because of the teams that were not so successful and were steps to get here,” he said.
In addition, he highlighted his time at Virtus Bologna. “Ettore Messina taught me a lot, thank you very much, ‘coach’. The Italian experience was very valuable for me, I became the player I was in the NBA and also the man I was,” he insisted. “In those years, still in Reggio Calabria, they called me to tell me that San Antonio Spurs had selected me. I literally couldn’t believe it, I thought they had been confused, I had no expectations, nobody had told me anything previously,” he confessed.
In the United States, he played 16 years in San Antonio under the direction of Gregg Popovich. “So many friends, so many incredible experiences. Pop, what can I say about you? You were very important to me and my family, I can never thank you enough. I got to play with one of the best ever, Tim -Duncan-, I learned from ti how to be an example on the court. TP -Parker-, we never let our egos generate fights, we knew how to distribute our time, “he said.
“Bruce Bowen, you made my job easier. Matt Bonner, wherever you are, you were a great partner. Patty -Mills-, Tiago -Splitter-, Bobo -Diaw-. Fabri -Oberto-, you were my ideal partner. And more of 100 more names. I thank you all. I loved sharing a team with you, those dinners, winning and losing together was fantastic, “he stressed.