In what may mark the end of an era for the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, coach Gregg Popovich elected to start veteran guard Manu Ginobili in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors.
He promptly scored the game's first points.
There is a good chance Ginobili, who turns 40 in July, will retire at the conclusion of the Spurs' season - they trail the series 3-0 going into Monday. He chose to return for this campaign after much thought last summer.
Ginobili's role the last three seasons has been exclusively off the bench as a sixth man. Monday's start was his first in any game since March 14, 2014. He last started a playoff contest in 2013.