Manu Ginobili

In the summer of 2004, a young man from Argentina led his countrymen past the United States, past Italy, past Serbia and Montenegro, past China, past Greece to stand atop the podium at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Manu Ginobili – the slashing, penetrating, fearless embodiment of a basketball stuntman – torched the United States for 29 points in the semifinal round of the Games to set up a showdown with Italy. Ginobili rose to the occasion again to collect 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, and one gold medal. For Argentina, and for the rest of the basketball world, this was a reminder to anyone watching that the stakes across international waters would continually be raised. Back in the States, Ginobili spent his entire NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, where the NBA’s 2008 Sixth Man of the Year won four NBA championships, including three in a four-year stretch from 2003 to 2006. Ginobili, along with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, formed the core of a Spurs dynasty that lasted more than a decade and encompassed over 800 regular season wins.