Background and career
Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili Maccari (English: MAN-oo jin-OH-blee, Spanish: [ˈmanu ʝiˈnoβili]; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. During a 23-year professional career, Ginóbili played in Argentina, in Italy, and in the NBA; he also represented Argentina in international competition. A shooting guard, he is best known for playing for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA from 2002 to 2018. Ginóbili, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker became known as the Spurs' "Big Three"; together, the trio won four NBA championships. In April 2022, Ginóbili was announced as a first-ballot inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Coming from a family of professional basketball players, Ginóbili spent the early part of his career in Argentina and Italy, winning several individual and team honors. Ginóbili's stint with Italian club Kinder Bologna was particularly successful, as he won two Italian League MVP awards, the EuroLeague Finals MVP, the 2001 EuroLeague championship and the Triple Crown. After joining the San Antonio Spurs, Ginóbili was named an All-Star in 2005 and 2011 and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team twice. In the 2007–08 season, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. The Spurs made the playoffs in each of Ginóbili's 16 seasons. He is regarded as one of the greatest Latin American players, sixth men, and draft steals in NBA history. Ginóbili is also credited with popularizing the Euro step move in the NBA. In international play, Ginóbili's achievements include leading Argentina to a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he was named FIBA Olympics Most Valuable Player. He also helped secure the historic feat of being a member of the only team in Olympic history (as of 2025) to ever eliminate the United States men's national basketball team since NBA players are allowed to participate (i.e. 1992). With Argentina's 2004 gold medal victory, Ginóbili became one of only two players (along with fellow Hall of Famer Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. In September 2021, the Spurs appointed Ginóbili as special advisor to basketball operations.
Emanuel David Ginóbili was born on the 28th of July 1977 in Bahía Blanca, a city in the southwest region of the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, to Jorge Hector Ginóbili and Raquel Maccari. Ginóbili comes from a family of basketball players: Jorge was a coach at Bahiense del Norte, a local basketball club, where Ginóbili learned to play the sport, whereas his older brothers, Leandro and Sebastián, are both former professional players; Leonardo played seven years in the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol before retiring in 2003, and Sebastián has played in both the Argentine local league and in the Spanish 2nd-tier level, Liga Española de Baloncesto. Ginóbili is of Italian descent, tracing his heritage to the region of Marche. He has both Argentine citizenship and Italian citizenship. In addition to his native Spanish, Ginóbili is fluent in English and Italian. In his spare time, Ginóbili enjoys listening to Latin music, watching movies, and traveling. He also enjoys cycling and playing tennis. Ginóbili's idol growing up was Michael Jordan. In 2004, Ginobili married fellow Argentine Marianela Oroño. On 16 May 2010, his wife gave birth to twin boys, Dante and Nicola. On 21 April 2014, she gave birth to their third son, Luca. A documentary based on Ginobili's life was directed by Rodolfo Lamboglia.
Ginóbili made his professional debut in the Argentine basketball league for the Andino Sport Club of La Rioja in the 1995–96 season.
Ginóbili was traded to Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca in 1996. He played with his hometown team until 1998.
Ginóbili went to Europe to spend the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons with Italian team Basket Viola Reggio Calabria. In 1999, he teamed with Brent Scott, Brian Oliver and Sydney Johnson to earn promotion from the Italian 2nd Division to the Italian 1st Division.
Ginóbili then entered the 1999 NBA draft and the San Antonio Spurs selected him late in the second round with the 57th overall pick. However, Ginóbili did not sign with the Spurs at this point. Instead, he returned to Italy to play for Kinder Bologna, whom he helped win the 2001 Italian League Championship, the 2001 and 2002 Italian Cups, and the 2001 EuroLeague. In the lattermost, Ginóbili was named the 2001 EuroLeague's Finals MVP. He was also named the Italian League MVP in 2000–01 and 2001–02, and made the Italian League's All-Star Game three times during this period. While playing with the Argentina national team at the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, Ginóbili made the All-Tournament Team, alongside future NBA star Yao Ming and established NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojaković, and helped lead Argentina to a second-place finish.
