Manu Ginóbili, before entering the Basketball Hall of Fame: “After this nothing else comes, it’s unreal”

UNCASVILLE, Conn.- The Mohegan Sun is a gamer’s paradise in this slice of the Northeast. Lavish complex with two casinos, hotels, shops and restaurants, has a frenetic pace. The sound of the slot machines acts as a musical curtain. A few meters from the machines, however, in one of the most important rooms of the complex, “El Teatro Cabaret”, a space with capacity for 400 people, carpeted floors and pastel colored walls, another reality is lived. Reserve, respect, emotion. On stage, the various chosen from the class of 2022 to enter the prestigious Basketball Hall of Fame(Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame), they speak, one after the other, with tears in their eyes and a lump in their throats.

The first to address the audience is longtime Denver coach George Karl. They follow him, telling anecdotes and answering questions from the press, other former players such as the charismatic Tim Hardaway, former Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, among other clubs. There are also protagonists from other areas, such as arbitration and technical assistance. And even Kobe Bryant is remembered. Until the clock strikes 3:49 p.m. in Connecticut (one hour less than in Argentina) and it is the Bahiense’s turn Emanuel Ginóbili, an artist sitting at the imaginary small table of the best Argentine athletes of all time (for many, the best, a true international ambassador). Manu, winner of four NBA rings with San Antonio Spurs (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014), will be the first player from our country to have a place in the same place as, among others, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Larry Bird.

This Saturday, between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (local time), in a ceremony at the Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts (the city where the Hall of Fame is located), Ginobili, retired in 2018, will receive the highest recognition for a basketball player. Legend among legends in the Hall of Fame. As if something were missing from his resume, his figure will be perpetuated there. In the “most complete basketball library”, Manu will contribute his work.

Luis Scola, Fabricio Oberto, Pepe Sánchez, Julio Lamas and Egg Sánchez are some of the former teammates and coaches that Ginóbili had and who traveled especially to Connecticut to accompany the Bahiense.

“It is unreal to be in this moment. You don’t grow up in Argentina expecting that you’re going to get to this place. I come from a small city in Argentina, where there is a lot of talk about basketball. My most important achievements are those achieved collectively. I don’t have MVPs and all those accolades, so I’m here for having been part of great teams. It’s incredible,” said the Argentine, as soon as he took the microphone, dressed in a gunmetal gray shirt, jeans and white sneakers.

Other of his phrases