Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
'No Brainer': Manu Ginobili Explains Tim Duncan as Hall of Famer Presenter
San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili will soon be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. When he does, the induction ceremony will feature him being presented by Tim Duncan.
There was a high standard for success achieved during Ginobili's time with the Spurs. Not only does he hold the record for the highest winning percent in NBA history (72.1 percent) for players with at least 1,000 games played, he was part of four successful championship runs.
During the 2022 Hall of Fame Press Conference, Ginobili made sure to credit his former Spurs teammate, Tim Duncan, for achieving enough success to receive the highest honor a player could land in their basketball career.
"Well, there aren't many Argentinians that I played with that are in the Hall of Fame, and Tim — I played 14 years with him," Ginobili said.
Ginobili mentioned that David Robinson could have been an option to present him at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, but called Duncan as a 'no-brainer' for a choice.
"David [Robinson] could have been another option, but I thought David was the right man for Tim and Tim for me," Ginobili said. "It was a no-brainer."
The message was clear from Ginobili: No Duncan as his teammate, and there's no Hall of Fame consideration for himself at the end of his basketball career.
"I owe TD big time," Ginobili said. "There's no Hall of Fame talk if TD is not on my team. We know that!"
"It was the right thing to do," he said.
Ginobili was undoubtedly an incredible talent in his own right and it would be selling him short to credit Duncan for all of his Hall of Fame consideration. Ginobili's humble attitude has clearly continued into his retirement.
Without the willingness from Ginobili to sacrifice, it's highly unlikely the Spurs would have had a dynasty. He was supremely talent and that's only part of the makeup of a winner. He was more than willing to do what was best for the team.
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