Before facing current NBA superstars in the All-Star Game, Jaylen Brown talked about his favorite players from other generations and chose as one of them Manu Ginobili.
At the All-Star Weekend press conference, Brown was asked a simple but difficult question to answer: Which players from other generations would you have liked to face on the court? The Boston Celtics star’s initial list began by naming several of the top scorers in NBA history.
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“There are many players, it is difficult to choose one”Brown said. “There are great players from different eras. Kobe (Bryant) would have been great, (Michael) Jordan, Dominique Wilkins. There are a lot of players, like Tracy McGrady, that I looked up to growing up.”
But then Brown added a surprise to the list. He named a player who was only a two-time All-Star, but he certainly made an impact on the NBA on his way to the Hall of Fame.
“Manu Ginobili. I think he retired after my first year in the league, but I wish I could have played against him in his prime.”Brown said.
As Brown pointed out, he only crossed paths with Manu a couple of times before the Argentine legend retired. Ginóbili’s Spurs faced Brown’s Celtics during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons. Brown played few minutes as a rookie, and Ginobili missed one of two meetings the following season.
Ginobili was past his prime by then, and Brown had yet to emerge as a forward who could dominate at both ends of the floor.
Although Ginobili was still an effective player late in his career (he made a significant contribution to a championship team in his mid-30s), trying to stop him in his athletic prime was a challenge of a different kind. Manu drove the defenders crazy with his feints, his footwork and his elegant definitions.
Brown clearly recognized what made Ginobili so special. Unfortunately for NBA fans, they will never get to see Brown and Ginobili go one on one: what a battle that would have been!
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
