12 moments that defined Ginobili's storied career

The great Manu Ginobili has called it a career. Here's a look back at some of the San Antonio Spurs legend's most memorable moments and highlights from over two decades in the basketball spotlight:

Draft day

Four years before he'd make his stateside debut, Manu "Gino-beely" broke onto the scene as the No. 57 pick of the 1999 draft.

The pronunciation of his name didn't stick, but Ginobili sure did, breaking expectations of what a draft-and-stash prospect from overseas could eventually develop into. The flashy shooting guard would finish his career with 14,043 points, 4,001 assists, 3,697 rebounds, and 1,392 steals in his 16-season career.

The first title

Ginobili's 2002-03 rookie campaign ended with a bang - the Spurs' second title in five seasons.

It marked a changing of the guard. It was "The Admiral" David Robinson's final time hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy, but it was also the first of four titles the ascendant trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Ginobili won together:

Ginobili, a seasoned vet from his time in Europe, was an immediate contributor in The Finals, hanging 11 points and seven rebounds on the New Jersey Nets in the climactic Game 6.

All of the audacious passes

Whether defenses were seeking to close Ginobili out at the 3-point line, or deny his Euro-steps to the hoop, he always seemed to have a backup plan in case things got hairy. That often amounted to finding a crack in the defense that previously seemed impenetrable, usually resulting in a picture perfect pass to a teammate for an easy bucket:

Few saw the floor like Ginobili.

Argentina captures unprecedented gold

This is an achievement that will stay in the hearts of Argentines until the sun stops rising. Since 1992, the United States has captured the gold medal in six of the seven men's basketball tournaments at the Olympic Games - missing out only in 2004 thanks in part to Ginobili's Herculean effort.

Argentina booked their ticket to the gold medal game with an electric 89-81 victory in the semifinals, against a U.S. squad featuring all-timers like Duncan, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade. Ginobili had game-high 29 points.

Argentina handily beat Italy 84-69 in the gold-medal match. Ginobili recorded 16 points, six assists, and six rebounds.

Manu scores career-high 48 against rival Suns

The Spurs and Phoenix Suns never really got along during Ginobili's tenure in the league. From Manu's rookie year to 2010, the two teams clashed five times in the playoffs, including the infamous 2007 conference semifinals series which resulted in Spurs forward Robert Horry hip-checking Suns superstar Steve Nash into the sideline.

In the middle of that burgeoning rivalry, Ginobili poured plenty of gasoline onto the fire back on Jan. 21, 2005, when he set his career high in scoring with 48 points on 16-for-22 shooting from the field (5-for-7 on 3-pointers) and 11-for-12 from the charity stripe.

Ginobili added six assists, five rebounds, and a steal for good measure, as the Spurs escaped Phoenix with a 128-123 overtime victory.

All of the dunks

Manu developed a reputation for his surgical dismantling of the defense using crafty dribbling, slick passing, and occasionally devastating ball fakes. Sometimes, however, the Spurs legend elected to eschew his scalpel in deference to a good, old-fashioned hammer:

Even in the twilight of his playing days, Ginobili could break out a big slam, igniting both the Spurs' bench and the local crowd alike.

Sixth Man like Manu

Somehow, Ginobili only captured one Sixth Man of the Year award - for averaging 19.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists mostly off the Spurs' bench in the 2007-08 season.

Watch Manu receive his due recognition - and stay for the incredibly exciting introduction by a representative of the award's sponsor:

In 708 regular-season appearances off the Spurs' bench in his career, Ginobili averaged 11.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Manu gives World Peace a shot

For years, the knock against foreign-born hoopers was that those who learned the game outside the U.S. were lacking in the toughness department. Ginobili disproved that train of thought time and time again.

In one of his bolder displays, the Argentine got into it with then-Los Angeles Lakers tough guy Metta World Peace, which subsequently drew the ire of the notoriously cool and collected Kobe Bryant:

Ginobili was one of the few players to get into World Peace's space and leave the floor without either a security detail or the help of the team medical staff. For his bravery, Manu deserves respect.

Manu becomes the bat man

Now that Ginobili has wrapped up his playing career, perhaps it's time for him to fully embrace a second career for which he's already shown considerable talent: pest extermination.

In a display that presumably made PETA cringe in agony, the Spurs' sixth man confidently stepped forward and swatted a loose bat out of the air during a game against the Sacramento Kings back in 2009 - on Halloween, no less.

The bat merely adopted the darkness; Ginobili was born in it (though he also required vaccination for rabies after his daring assault).

All the sneaky ball fakes

Even as his physical tools began to diminish, Ginobili was a puppet-master with the ball in his hands, pulling the defense apart like marionettes:

With defenses so focused on denying his flashy passing, it usually just took one dramatic movement for Ginobili to have his mark spinning out his of shoes.

The last title

Having dominated the NBA for the better part of a decade, few believed the aging Spurs core could hang on. After all, the 2012-13 season ended with a bitter defeat to the in-their-prime Miami Heat, and the trifecta of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker would be 37, 36, and 31 years old, respectively.

The Spurs had other plans, reeling off a 60-win regular-season, advancing to their second straight Finals appearance, and avenging their defeat in 2013 with a literal dismantling of the LeBron James-led Heat, taking the series 4-1.

James would return to the Cleveland Cavaliers that summer, closing the Heat's four-year window of juggernaut status. Had Ginobili and the Spurs not vanquished the Heat in such devastating fashion, the league as we know it today might be completely different.

The final home stand

Mere months before his 41st birthday, Ginobili took the floor at home on April 22 this year in San Antonio's AT&T Center for what would go down in the record books as his last appearance in front of the Spurs' faithful.

Despite his greybeard status, it was vintage Manu:

Ginobili was doing it all - swishing 3s, hitting runners, dropping dimes. He finished with 16 points, five assists, and three rebounds. Most importantly, Ginobili accomplished what he'd done countless times over the past two decades for the silver and black; he brought home a win, extending the Spurs' culture of excellence yet another day.

We may never see another quite like Emanuel "Manu" Ginobili.