The NBA regular season has come to a close. A season that featured the second-longest winning streak in league history (Miami Heat at 27); the LA Clippers’ first division championship and the LA Lakers unveiling their version of the Ringling Brothers circus now comes down to grinding out 12 more wins in four, best-of-seven series. Like other major sports, the NBA playoffs carries its own cachet and storylines created by hated teams, elite players and rising stars eager to define their own legends. While the presence of the game’s best increases a team’s championship chances a deep, post-season run may very well hinge on the contributions from these tested jugadores.
Manu Ginobili, Guard – San Antonio Spurs
How do these credentials ring when looking at this legendary Argentine player and what most consider one of the biggest steals of the 1999 draft (Manu was drafted 57th).
- 3-time NBA champion (all with the San Antonio Spurs)
- 2-time All-Star (2005 and 2011)
- NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2008)
- 2004 Men’s Basketball Olympic Gold Medalist (Argentina)
- Second player in history to win Euroleague and NBA championships
Time and again Ginobili has proven to be clutch, fearless and battle-tested; three attributes without which the Spurs are unlikely to hoist the franchise’s fifth championship trophy.
