First Argentine to be inducted into NBA Hall of Fame

He will be honored on September 10 in Springfield, Massachusetts, after his induction as part of the Class of 2022 was confirmed on Saturday. He is the first Argentine to achieve such a distinction.

Ginóbili, who was the Class of 2022’s top vote-getter, was officially announced on Saturday and will share the gala with five-time Los Angeles Lakers champion Michael Cooper, former Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat star Tim Hardaway, five-time All-Star Marques Johnson, three-time WNBA champion Swin Cash, former NBA head coach George Karl and West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins.

The NBA Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a basketball shrine that already houses illustrious names such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving and many more.

Manu, who was not selected in the 75 best players in history in February, has had countless achievements in the NBA. It should be noted that what he accomplished in the FIBA world was not considered for his selection for the 2022 induction, i.e. the Olympic gold in Athens 2004, the runner-up in Indianapolis 2002 or the bronze in London 2012 were not taken into account. Only what happened in the U.S. arenas.

In any case, since his arrival in 2003 to the NBA the successes have been continuous. Ginóbili is considered the creator of the Euro-Step, a double step movement in penetration towards the hoop that was later emulated by stars of the quality of James Harden and Dwyane Wade, among others. He came to American basketball at the age of 25, after being elected Euroleague MVP at Kinder Bologna. In his first year he won the championship title (2003) and then repeated in 2005, 2007 and 2014 with San Antonio.

He was twice All-Star and managed to be elected Best Sixth Man of the League in 2007-08. In fact, this trait of taking a step back for the rest to shine -he could have been a starter in any franchise he wanted to be in- made him so great that he was considered one of the best team players in history. The perfect example of what it means to be one for all.

“If it hadn’t been for Manu Ginóbili, we would have been two championships short,” Gregg Popovich said of the Argentinean, who retired at the age of 40 at a very high level.

Revulsive, disciplined, talented and a winner, Ginóbili experienced his jersey retirement ceremony by the Spurs at the end of March 2019. The best Argentine basketball player of all time, and one of the best athletes in the history of his country, will live forever in the most emblematic place in the best league in the world.

May his laurels be eternal.