It seems every NBA player has some crazy draft story.
They showed up in the green room wearing some ridiculous suit while taking in the sights of New York City. They had the big party with family and friends at their house or wherever. They were watching somewhere in the city, too afraid to be sitting in the green room alone, and showed up at the Draft to walk on stage minutes after their name was called. Or they stood in line to get one of those tickets and sat with the crowd waiting for their name to get called.
There are many reactions to the special moment when that player’s name is called and he becomes an NBA player for the first time.
I am sure every NBA player has a story about this moment. San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili sure does.
“I was sleeping. I was with the National Team in Macapa, Brazil a place worth searching the Internet,” Ginobili told ElGrafico.com (h/t Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs). “I did not know that the draft was that night. I finished eating and went to bed. The next morning, I woke up, someone came in to tell me I was chosen by San Antonio.”
Ginobili later said he could not believe that an NBA team drafted him. The Spurs made him the 57th overall pick (the 28th selection of the second round) in 1999. Ginobili stayed overseas until 2002 when he finally joined the Spurs.
He obviously had a successful career in Spain and that has carried over into the NBA. Ginobili has not snoozed through two All-Star Game appearances and three NBA championships for sure.
With the Spurs dynasty seemingly waning, Ginobili’s future seems pretty uncertain. He is 34 and likely on his last major contract. He has had a great run thanks to the ways San Antonio has placed him, coach Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in an untouchable core. And, who knows, if Ginobili were healthy for the Playoffs — he was nursing an elbow injury — the Spurs could have made another deep run into the postseason as the Western Conference’s top seed.
San Antonio always seemed to have the right balance on the court. And Ginbobili with his play-making ability was a big part of that in establishing San Antonio’s dynasty this past decade-plus.
To think, it all started with Ginobili snoozing in a hotel room in Brazil. Crazy how these stories go, right?
Ginobili added his views on a lot of different topics in the interview with ElGrafico. He revealed that Gregg Popovich actually has a personality besides basketball coach/disciplinarian, how he views gold medals with Argentina compared to NBA championships, and why Argentina hates Tony Parker so much.
It seems fitting that Ginobili’s NBA odyssey began while he was playing for his country. Being a member of the Argentinian national team has long been a big part of Ginobili’s identity. He always seemed to risk injury to go out and play for his country — even if it meant costing him something during the regular season.
This is a type of devotion that we often see from international players that we don’t see from American players. To Ginobili the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics probably means a lot more than his three NBA rings.
“The 2005 NBA ring was spectacular, the way we did it, the pressure in that last game against Detroit. But an Olympic gold is unlike everything,” Ginobili said. “Moreover, the context of the tournament is worth more. If you ask Kobe Bryant about his gold medal in Beijing, he will tell you he is happy and nothing else. He had to win that title, the United States had no choice. Ours in Athens, however, was very different. No one in Argentina and dreamed of a first place, ever.”
No doubt Ginoibil has met a lot of success and that 2003-05 period when Ginobili won three championships — two NBA titles and a gold medal — rank pretty highly.
Popovich was the master of those runs with the Spurs, but he remains a mystery character in the NBA because of the way he just goes about his business with no fanfare and little recognition. Everyone knows what a great coach he is, but few know hwo Popovich actually relates to his players. Ginobili may have explained what makes Popovich such a great leader:
“You have to know him to understand,” Ginobili said. “He is phenomenal. I never thought a guy could be so strict and even irritable on the court that he will come and ask me about my parents. He is generous, caring, honest. I have a good relationship with him, even if I were to get traded the next day. I will not stop praising him. Even though I have disagreed with his decisions.”
That is pretty high praise for one of the league’s greatest coaches. And perhaps some good perspective as one of the NBA’s least appreciated dynasties prepares to end.
