Ginobili announces retirement at age 41
Manu Ginobili has played his final game, and with that a new era awaits theSan Antonio Spurs.
Ginobili, 41, announced his decision to retire Monday, wrapping up what he called a “fabulous journey” in which he helped the Spurs win four NBA championships in 16 seasons withthe club.
This smooth left-handed guard from Argentina came to San Antonio in 2002, forming what quickly became a powerful “Big 3” alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Now, they’ve all moved on: Duncan retired two years ago, Parker left San Antonio earlier this summer as a free agent to sign with the Charlotte Hornets, and Ginobili has worn Spurs colors for the last timeas well.
“Today, with a wide range of feelings, I’m announcing my retirement from basketball,” Ginobili wrote on Twitter in making the announcement. “IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last 23years. It’s been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildestdreams.”
The image Ginobili chose to accompany that tweet: A photo of him walking off the floor, away from the camera, with four fingers aloft — signifying his four titles.
“An NBA champion and All-Star, Manu Ginobili is also a pioneer who helped globalize the NBA,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “He is one of basketball’s greatest ambassadors who believes in the power of sports to change lives. ... Thank you, Manu, for a career that inspired millions ...around the world.”
Ginobili’s pro career lasted 23 seasons in all, starting with stints in Italy and Argentina. His drawing power was massive evenin his final season. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard were the backbone of San Antonio’s drive to its most recent NBA championship in 2014, and this will be the first time that Gregg Popovich begins a season as the Spurs head coach with none of those players on the roster. Leonard was traded to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan earlier thissummer, the end of a relationship in San Antonio that had apparently gone toosour to save.
G League changes
The G League’s 18th season starts Nov. 2, and much like in the NBA the schedule formula has been changed to further reduce the amount of back-to-back games for teams. Teams will play an average of 6.6 back-to-backs this season, a drop of nearly 6 percent from a year ago. Also like the NBA schedule, no team will have any stretches of four games in five nights. This will be the largest G League in its history, with the addition of the Washington Wizards’ affiliate Capital City Go-Go pushing the league’s total membershipto 27 clubs.