My Sportsman Choice: Manu Ginobili

By Chris Ballard

After leading Argentina to Olympic gold, Manu Ginobili hopes to help the Spurs capture another NBA title. John Biever/SI  Chris Stone: Red Sox Nation, you've earned this one  Paul Zimmerman: Boy Wonder brought Boston a title  B.J. Schecter: Red Sox captured Boston's heart  Richard Deitsch: The Babe had a big presence in '04  Rick Reilly: Big Papi did it all for the world champs  Jeffri Chadiha: A reward for reversing The Curse  Lisa Altobelli: Ramirez never took anything seriously  • Sportsman of the Year archive

Granted, this is tough to do, but imagine that the United States hadn't won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics since 1948. Not in a particular event but in any event. Not one fluke victory in the high jump, one by-a-nose upset in the 100 meter fly, one rousing rhythmic gymnastic triumph. Nothing. Not a blip.

Then, after 52 years of international futility, let's say the U.S. not only won a gold medal but did so in a team sport in which it had been virtually irrelevant for the greater part of the last 100 years. Furthermore, let's say there was one transcendent player who carried this team in every big game and was clearly the MVP of the tournament. Were this the case, it's safe to say that this man would not only be given Sportsman of the Year but probably Sportsman of the Century and who knows what else -- perhaps his own daytime talk show or the governorship of Minnesota.

Well, there is such an athlete, only he's not American. But that's not going to stop me from picking him for Sportsman of the Year. If sports have truly become global in nature, and our magazine is aiming to reflect that, then we should look outside our own borders when bestowing accolades. Better yet, we won't have to fly this man in from some hinterland to pick up his trophy because he already lives in San Antonio and has a U.S. work visa. I speak of Manu Ginobili, the shooting guard for both the Argentinean national team and the Spurs.

In leading his country to the gold medal -- and defeating the United States in the process - Ginobili averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and shot a Shaq-like 57.6 percent from the field for the tournament. He and his mates provided the world -- and especially a disjointed, ill-equipped US team -- with a clinic in the powers of team basketball. Crisp passing, constant ball movement, a lineup in which all five players can shoot: we would hold these basketball truths to be self-evident if it weren't for the fact that the American men displayed none of them.

So the Argentine national team should be lauded for providing a wake-up call to world basketball (for the second time; they first beat the United States at the 2002 World Championships). And Ginobili in particular should be singled out because he made not only his teammates believe -- they call him "the One" -- but also an entire nation. "Because of Manu, it is an explosion and a magic all over the country," says Juan Carlos Meschini, a commentator for TyC Sports, the ESPN of Argentina. "Many people who saw basketball as something distant, different from soccer, are coming around to the sport. It is becoming a national phenomenon."

Even better, he didn't play in the Olympics to raise his endorsement profile or to leverage an upcoming contract (he'd already signed a six-year deal with the Spurs in July). "We weren't getting paid, we get nothing," he says. "We go there with our contracts signed. There's no other goal other than to go for pride and to play together."

What a quaint idea: playing for pride and playing together. For that, Manu, I honor you.