Saying goodbye to Manu

Aug. 27 was a sad day for the basketball community, especially for San Antonio Spurs fans. After 16 seasons with the NBA team, 41-year-old Manu Ginobili announced his retirement from basketball in a tweet.

“Today, with a wide range of feelings, I’m announcing my retirement from basketball. IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last 23 years. It’s been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildest dreams.”

Ginobili began playing for the Spurs during the 2002-2003 season. In 2003, he won his first championship title with the team and had the honor of making it to the All-Tournament team. From there, his career skyrocketed.

The Argentina native became the center of attention for fans around the world. He appeared in 218 playoff games with the team and scored a total of 1,057 points throughout his career. With the Spurs, he obtained three more championships in 2005, 2007 and 2014. 

Ginobili is the last of the fantastic four to leave. First, it was Tim Duncan, then Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard.

It is a time of transition for the Spurs. The new players will have big shoes to fill and adjust to not having Ginobili on the court.

Fans all over the world have shown the sadness they feel upon hearing of Ginobili’s retirement. Longtime basketball fan Tyler Martinez, a kinesiology senior at UTRGV, said he is saddened to see Ginobili go.

“I’m very sad because he was such an amazing player to watch,” Martinez said. “He was a very different player to watch because you never knew what he was going to do with the ball. Growing up just watching the Spurs you get so accustomed to watching him play.”  

Reading up on articles and evaluating everyone’s reaction to Ginobili’s announcement, I believe that the Spurs will experience a time of change, growth and learning.

The organization will need to adjust to seeing new players on the court, but it is not entirely up to the players.

I am sure that with a head coach like Gregg Popovich, the Spurs will continue to have success on the court. It might take time to adjust, but it is not impossible.

For now, we say goodbye to Ginobili and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.