By Joël Pütz | Sports journalist
An absolute legend of the 2000s, Kevin Garnett fought against the Spurs dynasty on numerous occasions. And he particularly remembered the level of play of a certain Manu Ginobili, as he recounted on his podcast.
Sometimes you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In a sense, this sums up the early years of Kevin Garnett in the NBA. The former interior was certainly a hit individually with the Timberwolves, even being elected MVP in 2004, but the franchise as a whole was often far too weak to face the behemoths of the Western Conference in the early 2000s.
We of course think of the Lakers who scored a three-peat between 2000 and 2002, but also the Spurs who were recurring customers in the playoffs. The clashes between KG and the Texans were all the more worth watching as there were impressive battles with a certain Tim Duncan, the greatest power forward in history. But he was not the only member of the San Antonio squad to hallucinate the superstar.
Kevin Garnett amazed by the level of Manu Ginobili
Alongside the Big Fundamental, we found his famous lifelong acolytes, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The second is the one that has caught Garnett's attention the most recently on his podcast, with the latter saying he is impressed by his ability to make defenses go crazy with his passing quality and his technical range:
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Manu Ginobili with his long hair, he could break the pick-and-roll by passing the ball behind his back, then he would give you a eurostep at full speed. You never knew which side he was going to choose, if you made the wrong choice he was going to dunk on you, boom! “Who the fuck is that?” » Then he returned to his half of the field haranguing everyone, with his hair waving as if he were Rico Suave.
He sometimes called out to the guys in Spanish, you didn't know what they were saying! He could make a full-court bounce pass, the ball went through nine players and ended up in Tim Duncan's hands and the bastard just had to make a layup. Man, his technical repertoire was crazy.
Whether he was a starter or a substitute, El Manu was indeed capable of causing misery to anyone on the pitch, his left-handed profile being all the more complicated to manage for opposing defenders. His 2007-08 season with more than 19 points per game coming off the bench, accompanied by a title of Sixth Man of the Year, illustrated it perfectly: no one could stop the Argentinian because he could be so creative.
Manu Ginobili remains to this day one of the greatest offensive geniuses in the history of basketball, especially during his younger years when his hair was still present. Kevin Garnett won't soon forget this era!
