"Hit him a little in the ribs to see what happened" - 4-time NBA champion on how he would have played against Michael Jordan, shares story of his only game against MJ
Michael Jordan was idolized by a generation of kids, some of whom later became NBA players. One of those inspired by Jordan was San Antonio Spurs legend and four-time champion Manu Ginobili, who played just one game against "His Airness" in 2002.
Ginobili was drafted 57th overall by the Spurs in 1999, but he stayed in Europe for two more seasons. He joined San Antonio in the 2002-03 season, which was Jordan's final year in the league. In an interview with Zyri, Ginobili recalled his only game against Jordan, which lasted just five seconds. He said:
"I received the ball and threw a banana from half court. Jordan was at the other end, the first half ended, and Gregg Popovich didn't put me on anymore. He never found out what he had done to me, which for me was a huge offense. He needed me for five seconds, and he gave me only that. The court is 28 meters, the closest I had it was to 16."
Manu Ginóbili and his frustrated encounter with Michael Jordan: "I played 5 seconds and I had him at 16 meters" - Zyri dlvr.it/SPgjNw
The Washington Wizards and the San Antonio Spurs played twice that season, with Ginobili missing the first meeting against Michael Jordan on December 21, 2002. Ten days later, Ginobili and the Spurs faced Jordan and the Wizards once again, but Gregg Popovich only used Ginobili for five seconds.
The four-time NBA champion really wanted to play against his idol and test him with physicality, but he never really had a fair chance. If he had come into the league a year earlier, he might have had a better shot at taking on Jordan, who returned for the 2001-02 season. Ginobili said:
"I would have liked to defend him, hit him a little in the ribs to see what happened, what he was like. But I didn't have it even close."
Manu Ginobili would meet Michael Jordan several times during his playing career, as Jordan is the owner of the Charlotte Hornets. Ginobili confessed to stuttering when he tried to say 'hi' to his idol, which happened in an elevator. He said:
"He is the owner of the Hornets franchise. I was in a hotel to play against Charlotte. When the elevator door opened, he was there. I stuttered a bit, I said, 'Hi, how are you?,' and I continued. I didn't dare to talk to him, ask him anything. … it was also an elevator."
Manu Ginobili had poster of Michael Jordan growing up in Argentina
Michael Jordan made the NBA a global sport during the 1990s. One of the people he inspired around the world was a young Manu Ginobili. The San Antonio Spurs legend grew up in Bahia Blanca in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
When Ginobili retired in 2018, he visited his childhood home and shared a picture of Jordan, which was in his room. He also had various VHS tapes of the Chicago Bulls' championship runs in the 1990s.
Ginobili is set to join Jordan and all the other greats of the game as a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022.