Anne Stein

Manu Ginobili

Guard, San Antonio Spurs

Age: 30

The NBA’s sprinkled with a small core of talented Argentines and best among them is this season’s Sixth Man of the Year, Manu Ginobili. The Olympic gold medalist and NBA All-Star, who played professionally in Italy and Argentina before joining the Spurs in 2002, led San Antonio in scoring while coming off the bench in 51 of 74 games, averaging a career-high 19.5 points with 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Oh yeah – with 1.8 seconds left in double overtime, he hit the game-winner for the Spurs' Game 1 victory over Phoenix.

What’s been the favorite moment of your career so far? August 28, 2004, when we (Argentina) won the gold medal in Athens. That was a pretty special moment. (Argentina beat Italy; the U.S. took the bronze.)

Are you surprised by how many Argentines (six) play in the NBA? I’m not surprised in a sense because I know we have a lot of talented players, but it’s surprising for a small country like ours to have such a successful group of players. Once we retire I don’t think there’ll be many more coming, sadly. It’s a great generation, sometimes it happens. We’ve never been a favorite for world champions or Olympics and now we are so I guess we have a great generation.

If you weren’t playing basketball, what would you be doing instead? I probably would go to college and get a degree in accounting. I’ve always liked numbers, taxes, certified public accounting. I’d do something like that.

Who’s an athlete you admire in another sport? There are many. As a kid I admired Maradona, the soccer player. Also Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, for the mindset, the killing instinct, always that they’re so tough and competitive and that they’ve maintained themselves on top for a long time.

What’s been the toughest moment in your career? That was in Indianapolis in 2002, the FIBA World Championships, when Argentina was playing the finals against Serbia-Montenegro. I was hurt and couldn’t play much and we lost an incredible game.

What’s your favorite gadget or toy? My laptop is something I don’t go anywhere without. I love my computer – I watch movies, look at pictures, chat, lots of stuff. I keep in touch with all my family and friends in Europe, Argentina, and here in the States.

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