Manu Ginobili‘s No. 20 jersey went up to the rafters in San Antonio during a poignant ceremony Thursday night.
“He’s the definition of Spurs basketball,” Tony Parker said of his longtime former teammate.
Tim Duncan and head coach Gregg Popovich were among the featured speakers, with Pop concluding that “without Manu, there were no championships.”
Per The San Antonio Express-News:
“What I am doing here?” Ginobili said when he finally took the microphone. “This wasn’t supposed to happen to me.”
It was a long, strange trip for Ginobili from Bahia Blanca, Argentina to the top of AT&T Center.
He became the ninth player in club history to have his jersey retired, joining Tim Duncan, David Robinson, George Gervin, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, Bruce Bowen, James Silas and Johnny Moore.
“I’ve just been dealt amazing cards,” Ginobili said. “I just had to play them OK.”
