'Immense Love': Spurs Legend Manu Ginobili Thanks Fans Before Hall of Fame Enshrinement

Ginobili will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame Saturday.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 8, 2022

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

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San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs icon Manu Ginobili is just days away from entering the National Basketball Hall of Fame. But before he is enshrined forever in Springfield, he addressed his fans on Instagram.

Ginobili was drafted by the Spurs in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft, but was stashed overseas until 2002 when he joined the team in San Antonio as a bullish guard off the bench. It took him a little while to get acclimated to the NBA game, but once he did, he helped stretch San Antonio's championship window.

In his rookie year, San Antonio won its second title and would go on to win two more in his first five NBA seasons.

Ginobili became an All-Star for the first time in 2005 and was regarded as one of the league's best bench players. In 2008, Ginobili was named the Sixth Man of the Year. While it was the only time he won the award in his career, he was constantly in consideration for the honor throughout his time in San Antonio.While injuries and a lockout limited him to just 34 appearances in the 2011-12 season, he returned the following season and helped lead the Spurs to another Finals run, the fourth of his career. While the team eventually lost to the Miami Heat in seven games, the Spurs bounced back the following year to win Ginobili's fourth NBA championship.View this post on Instagram

Throughout nearly two decades, Ginobili was one of the league's consummate professionals, and he did it all in San Antonio.

Ginobili will be officially enshrined into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday at 6 p.m. on NBA TV.

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Published Sep 8, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.