After Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili announced his retirement on Monday, NBA.com took the time to break down the Argentine's career.
NBA.com's Gilbert McGregor noted that while Ginobili finishes as the franchise's all-time leader in 3-pointers made and steals, he also finished top five in seven other major statistical categories, such as games played, minutes, field goals, free throws, rebounds and assists.
But those numbers do not fully describe how dominant Ginobili was throughout his career. As NBA.com's Micah Adams showed, Ginobili's per 100 possessions numbers during his seven-year prime matched up well with some of the biggest names in the NBA.
Over that same period, Ginobili averaged over 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists per 100 possessions. The only other players to reach those thresholds over that span? LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Tracy McGrady.
DEVENEY: Ginobili's legacy defined by movements, moments
NBA.com also debated whether Ginobili was the greatest sixth man ever. Of the five writers, three felt he deserved the top spot, with the other two choosing Jamal Crawford and Jason Terry.
Jamal Crawford and Jason Terry dominated as sixth men throughout patches of their careers, but Manu did it for the majority of his 16-season NBA career. Only three seasons saw Manu start more times than coming off of the bench... He'll deservedly go down as one of the leagues best bench players the game has seen.
Either way, there's no doubt that Ginobili leaves the game as an all-time great and future Hall of Famer.
