International basketball star Manu Ginóbili is one of the newest members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ginóbili was enshrined during a ceremony Saturday night (September 10), making him the first Argentinian player to ever earn the honor.
“I’m not here because I was super special,” Ginóbili said during his induction speech. “I’m here because I was part of two of the most important teams of the 2000s.”
Ginóbili spent his entire 16-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the San Antonio Spurs. During that time, he and fellow Spurs’ stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker led their team as “The Big Three” to four championships between 2003 and 2014. Duncan described his talent on the court as “genius chaos.”
Along with his four NBA championships, Ginóbili was a two-time NBA All-Star and the 2008 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He retired from the NBA in August 2018. Seven months later, the Spurs retired his No. 20 jersey.
“The Spurs were one big, strong, supportive family for me,” Ginóbili said.
Ginóbili not only made an impact with his exciting play in the NBA, but he was also a superstar in his home country of Argentina. In 2004, Ginobili led Argentina to its first Olympic gold medal in basketball. It was also the first time a Latin American country won gold in men’s basketball.
He also found success playing professional basketball in Italy where he helped his team win a handful of championships and tournaments between 2001 and 2002. Currently, Ginóbili works as a special advisor to Basketball Operations for the Spurs.
Watch Manu Ginóbili’s entire Hall of Fame Enshrinement speech below.