Ginóbili, Manu (1977–)

One of the best-known Latin American athletes in the United States in 2007 is the Argentine basketball player Manu Ginóbili. Born Emanuel David on July 28, 1977, in Bahía Blanca, he, like his two older brothers, played for a hometown club coached by his father, then headed off to Italy (1998–2002), where he spent two years in Calabria, then with Kinder Bologna shared in four team titles and enjoyed eight individual All-Star or Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards. He also led the Argentine national team to second and fourth in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world championships in 2002 and 2006—he was named to both All-Tournament Teams—and to the Olympic gold medal in 2004, when he was named Olympic MVP. He joined the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association for the 2002–2003 season and shared in their NBA championships in 2003 and 2005. Labeled the team's "only flashy guy" and often filling his new role as sixth man, in 2007 Ginóbili helped the Spurs win their fourth NBA title in nine years; he was joined that season by Argentine national teammate Oberto Fabricio. The focus of "Manumania" in San Antonio, he has also achieved star status back home.

See alsoSports .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beder, Germán and Andrés Pando. Mundo Manu. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Corregidor, 2006.

Frescó, Daniel. Manu: El cielo con las manos. Buenos Aires: Aguilar, 2005.

McCallum, Jack. "… Own Your Own Country." Sports Illustrated, October 27, 2003, p. 78.

                                     Joseph L. Arbena