NBA: Manu: Went all the time from resignation

On Monday Manu Ginobili announced his resignation from the NBA via Twitter. A day later, he published a column in the Argentine newspaper La Nacion explaining the background to the decision.

“I can’t say it was a hasty or unexpected decision,” Ginobili said. “I am 41 years old. I’ve really exhausted this basketball thing, haven’t I? Last season was my last season in my head the whole time. I didn’t want to say it publicly because I wanted to keep my options open.”

Nevertheless, he took his time with the final decision. Even before his vacation he had informed Spurs coach Gregg Popovich that he was inclined to this decision, but it only became final when he was back in San Antonio and started with individual training.

“I came back and lifted weights and took the ball in my hand. I watched the youngsters prepare for the preseason while everything from last season was still hurting me,” said Ginobili. “That convinced me with that that it was the right decision to stop.” After that he had a long talk with Popovich and even the only NBA coach he had in the league in 16 years could not stop him.

Nevertheless, Ginobili wants to keep the Spurs intact. “This is not a final farewell,” wrote the Argentinian. “My children are back in school here, and as long as I’m in town, I’ll be close to the franchise. I can’t take any more offensive fouls, but I can still contribute. If I can help, I’ll be happy to do so.”

Ginobili had won four NBA titles with the Spurs over 16 years, twice reaching the All-Star Game. Now he has the feeling that he has exhausted everything. “The truth is that I had nothing more to give,” wrote Ginobili.