Manu Ginobili officially entered the Hall of Fame: how, why and what does it mean

You can always be bigger...

It seems that this could not be the case with Emanuel David Ginobili. But today it proved itself when he was officially announced as one of the five new members (he is joined by former players Tim Hardaway and Swin Cash and former coaches George Karl and Bob Huggins) of the legendary Springfield Hall of Fame. Because this is really big, for what it is but also because of the symbolic. It is, nothing less, than an Argentine being recognized by the elite and within the country that ruled basketball since his birth, 131 years ago. It is also a reaffirmation that this Argentine belongs to the world elite of this sport. It is also one of those landmarks that invite us, once again, to go through a career that had much more than titles, rings, prizes, numbers and records, which force us to dive into a trajectory that immortalizes him as a different one, without being one of the best in history... To think about why and how he did it. For us, for Argentine sport, it is another milestone that places him in the Olympus of the Gods, which confirms him as a unique, ideal, dreamed athlete, something that also makes him, due to his unpolluted behavior, an example for our country, a symbol that we can, being like him, as many times we would like to be and cannot as Argentines...

One more step towards the eternity of a kid who barely dreamed of being tall — as a boy he had a hard time growing in height until he hit the spurt — and playing, like his brothers, in our National League. That later, over time, he got excited about the National Team - he reached the Major only at the age of 21 - or maybe play abroad. But never so much, nor close, admitted by himself and his loved ones. If MG won his first tournament at age 22, in Italy... If in Bahía Blanca, at the age of 15, he was even cut off by a selection of cadets and went to the descent with his neighborhood club, Bahiense del Norte, when he was 17, pain he endured by crying, locked in his room for hours. We are talking about a boy who was not born predestined to be a world star, as if he happened to a LeBron, a Jordan, a Kobe, a Messi or a Maradona. Manu, more than anyone else, was built like what it is today. And he became a Lord of Talents because some of them were, of course, born, but most, in reality, he worked them with his discipline, professionalism, passion and determination, a combo that inspires and excites even those who don't follow basketball so much.

But we have to go back to the information, which says that the Bahian succeeded in his first year of selection — three years have to pass since his retirement. There are figures in history who never make it. In fact, he is only the third South American player — behind Brazilians Oscar Schmidt and Ubiratan Pereira — and the first Spanish-speaking Latino to enter this place he immortalizes. And others take years: for example, in this edition, Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and Michael Finley were left out, with important scrolls. Manu succeeded in his first application. Something that rarely happens, except in cases where his arrival is practically unanimous, as happened with the Bahian.

The difficulty in achieving privilege is important because you have to pass three filters. In fact, votes by various committees made up of specialists. First they nominate you, as happened last December, with him and 48 other candidates. Then there is the Honors Committee, which decides the finalists. Eighteen of the 24 votes of the specialists who make it up are needed. MG20 passed it, in February, when 10 of the 49 were elected a priori. And now it was the turn of the Board of Directors called the Board of Trustees, which is made up of people already included in the HOF, journalists and specialists. Again he had to have at least 18 (out of 24) votes. And again he passed the cut comfortably, an important source told Infobae. Members were required to review each finalist, their merits, actions or statements. If any of that was considered to have damaged the image or integrity of the game, with immoral, ethical attitudes or even problems with justice, it could be removed from the list. Even if it was a crack...

Of course, with unblemished behavior, none of this could happen to Manu. On the contrary, it was very good for them to take that into account. And, in addition, his curriculum was left over... Because you have to know that, despite being in the United States, the basketball Hall of Fame analyzes all the merits, not only those in that country, in the NBA or the NCAA, by case. Ginobili's epic NBA career, with four rings, two All Star selections, a near-MVP, a Best Sixth Man award and the best regular-stage win percentage in history, helped a lot, but it wasn't the only thing that was taken into account. The feats with our National Team, having been the star of the national team that remained at the top for more than a decade, with two Olympic medals — gold and bronze — and a world runner-up, among other results, and what was achieved in Europe — four titles, including the Euroleague, and four MVPs — also deepened his case. The same as the mark he left from his values and behavior — never a fight with a DT, a teammate, a rival or a referee, absolute absence of controversy for 20 years — the move he patented and the way he inspired other athletes by accepting to be a substitute — for the good of the team — when he was a superstar of the competition.

This is a choice sung, because Manu was known to have great chances and, moreover, because she was advanced by a US journalist on Thursday, but that doesn't take away emotion or importance. There were also many who believed that he should be among the 75 best players in history that the NBA chose in October to celebrate its 75th birthday, and yet he was not. He was on the verge, probably, but he wasn't there. It was not nonsense, nor was he the only one who stayed out in a controversial way. Vince Carter, Klay Thompson, Ben Wallace, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady, among others, did merit to be in the select group and were not included. For Manu it is revenge because, genuinely, he is not desperate for prizes, as he never was, when he was a player. But he expected this — much more than being among 75, something he said he didn't think he should be — and he knew his chances were greater. This is for eternity.

Things of fate, Manu will enter the HOF with another former NBA figure and it is, coincidentally, who will captivate him with his game as a teenager in Bahia. This is Tim Hardaway, the king of the crossover, that change of direction that players make when they penetrate to the rim. Manu was captivated by his style when he saw that Warriors team and the famous RUN TMC, a super offensive trio that the point guard formed with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond since 1989 and 1991, just as MG started watching NBA at his home in Vergara 14 in Bahia. A lethal trident that averaged about 70 points per game and earned the nickname for the first letters of the names, which were the same as a famous rap group from the 80s. Today the son is better known, who is in the NBA, but the real good one was the father. One of the most creative and captivating bases to see in history. Five times All Star and five times All NBA Team—once he was in the first, the ideal quintet-, that little tank that seemed to always play in a paddock retired after 15 seasons with averages of 17.7 points and 8.2 assists.

Following this official announcement, during the NCAA Final 4 that takes place in New Orleans and whose champion we will meet this Monday, the enthronement is now in September, during a ceremony that will take place on 9-10 in Springfield, Massachusetts, with tickets going on sale in the near future. For now, it's a fact: Valhalla basketball has a new member: Emanuel David Ginobili. And he's Argentinian. Nothing more and nothing less. Applause, ladies and gentlemen.

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