THE SCIENTIST:Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili
Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili (born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine professional basketball player. Coming from a family of
professional basketball players, he is a member of the Argentine men's national basketball team and the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Ginóbili spent the early part of his basketball career in Argentina and Italy, where he won several individual and team honors. His stint with Italian side Kinder Bologna was particularly productive, earning two Italian League MVP awards, the Euroleague Finals MVP and the 2001 Euroleague and Triple Crown championships. The shooting guard was selected as the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and is considered one of the biggest draft steals of all time. Ginóbili returned to Italy and only joined the Spurs in 2002. He did not take long to establish himself as a key player for the Spurs, and has since earned three NBA championship rings as well as being named an All-Star in 2005 and 2011. In the 2007–08 season, he was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
With the Argentina national team, Ginóbili has also enjoyed success. He made his debut with the national team in 1998, and was a member of the team which won the gold medal during the 2004 Olympics Basketball Tournament. Hailed as one of the finest European-based players to grace the NBA, he plays a high-tempo and intense game. He is also one of only two players, along with Bill Bradley, to have won a Euroleague title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.
Ginóbili is a member of the Argentine national basketball team, and made his debut during the 1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens. His best accomplishment as a member of the national team came at the 2004 Athens Olympics Basketball Tournament when Argentina became the first team other than Team USA to win the gold medal in 16 years. The highlight of the tournament was his game-winning buzzer beater with 0.7 seconds remaining, on the opening day of the Olympics, in a game versus Serbia and Montenegro. Ginóbili led the team in both scoring (19.3 points per game) and assists (3.3 assists per game).At the 2008 Beijing Olympics Basketball Tournament, Ginóbili's Argentina defeated Lithuania to win the bronze, although the shooting guard did not play in that match after sustaining an injury in the semi-finals. In April 2010, Ginóbili announced he would not participate in the 2010 FIBA World Championship due to family reasons.