Woj: Manu Ginobili ‘seriously’ considers retirement

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Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs is seriously considering whether to put an end to his NBA career and plans to discuss it with the team’s head coach Greg Popovich before making the final decision, reported ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday.

The 41-year-old Ginobili has been practicing regularly at the Spurs’ facility for a period of time but still has not decided if he will play for the team in the 2018-19 season. According to ESPN’s sources, San Antonio surely hopes that the future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer can play his 17th season with the team but will give Ginobili all the time he needs to consider.

Manu Ginobili #20 makes great contributions to the San Antonio Spurs during the 2005 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons. /VCG Photo

Coach Popovich was participating NBA’s Basketball Without Borders event in Belgrade and is coming back to San Antonio where he is expected to meet Ginobili. Having one year left of his contract with the Spurs, Ginobili could still make steady contributions to the team by making 8.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the past 2017-18 season.

Though he was physically OK to play another season, Ginobili may need to overcome more mental difficulties to make that happen. Joining San Antonio in 2001, the Argentinian guard brought the Spurs four NBA Champions together with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Tim Duncan (C), Tony Parker (L) and Manu Ginobili (R) together win four NBA Champions for the Spurs. /VCG Photo

However, as Duncan retired in 2016 and Parker joined the Charlotte Hornets as a free agent in 2018 summer, the Spurs had to enter a new era with new leading players. Kawhi Leonard was expected to be the man but he left San Antonio too after the soap opera this summer in a deal that also took away Danny Green.

Having lost so many long-time teammates in less than two years, Ginobili has enough reasons to consider if he should say goodbye to NBA. Even if he decides to retire, one thing for sure, it will never weaken his position as one of the greatest foreign players in NBA history.

(Top picture: Manu Ginobili from NBA's San Antonio Spurs /VCG Photo)