Manu Ginobili is considered by many as the greatest Sixth Man in NBA history. Even though he started his career off as a legitimate starter, head coach, Gregg Popovich, had the genius to put him on the bench where his offensive firepower became an instant success. On top of this, many San Antonio Spurs fans have him as the fourth or even third-best player in franchise history behind Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and George Gervin in some cases. He and Tony Parker formed a terrific backcourt for the Spurs. These days, the Argentinian legend has returned to the organization in a front-office position. Just look at this hilarious quote from Popovich when addressing his return to the team.
Popovich also joked and said the reason Manu Ginobili joined the front office is because “his wife needed him gone.”
With all of this in mind, it is time to delve into the most underrated season of his Hall of Fame career.
Manu Ginobili’s Most Overlooked Season
Manu Ginobili: His 2010-11 Season
Many Spurs fans block out this season and for good reason. They were legitimate championship favorites as they finished with a win-loss record of 61-21 which was good enough for the best record in the entire NBA. An impressive feat considering this was also the first year the “big three,” Miami Heat was in the league led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Little did the NBA world know that these two teams would eventually meet in two straight NBA Finals. The team had finished with the second-best offensive rating in the league with a total of 111.8 and a solid team defensive rating of 105.6.
Despite all of this, the San Antonio Spurs were still victims of one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history. The eighth seed Memphis Grizzlies were able to defeat the Spurs in six games in the first round. However, that still does not take away from the solid year Manu Ginobili had in the regular season. He made his second All-Star Game of his career and the numbers back up his campaign during this particular season.
His Numbers in the 2010-11 Campaign
Manu Ginobili had a career year in many statistical areas during the 2010-11 campaign. He averaged 17.4 points, 4.9 assists, and 3.7 total rebounds per game. Not to mention, he also shot an effective field goal percentage of 50.9 percent. These are decent totals, but Ginobili’s advanced numbers were also impressive.
Ginobili averaged a player efficiency rating of 21.7 to go along with a true shooting percentage of 58.1 percent. Not to mention, he also had an offensive rating of 116. Manu also had an assist percentage of 26.4 percent, a total which would steadily increase in this area for the next couple of seasons. Manu Ginobili also possessed a total win-share total of 9.9 during this campaign. Despite the heartbreaking end to the season for the San Antonio Spurs, it is easy to see why Ginobili’s most overlooked season of his career is the 2010-11 season.
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