Manu Should Have Retired Saturday Night
The Forrest Four-Cast: May 24, 2017
On Monday evening, after San Antonio was eliminated from the NBA playoffs by Golden State, long-time Spurs innovator Manu Ginobili told reporters that he will take a little time to decide whether or not its time to retire: “I always said that I wanted to let it sink in for three weeks, four weeks, whatever, and then I will sit with my wife and see how it feels.”
The decision shouldn’t be so difficult. Manu should have retired on Saturday night, at the end of the third quarter of Game Three against the Warriors. In a perfect world, he would have hung up the sneakers immediately after the incredible play where he dribbled through the legs of David West. Watch the video of this unbelievable move here.
At 39 years old, Ginobili doesn’t have anywhere near the athletic ability that he did 10 or 15 years ago. But he can often make up for that decline with the sheer creativity and passion that he brings to his craft. There’s no better example of this creativity and passion then the so-called “nutmeg” move on Saturday night. It will never get better than this.
Which is probably the reason that he will return for another year. As a player, he has never quite been content to let things stay as they are. Ginobili’s willingness to push the limits of control is one of the biggest charms — and the biggest curses — that he brings to the court. It will be fun to see what age-defying moves he can bring to the 2017–2018 season.
Hugh Forrest tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often (but not always) cover technology-related trends. When not attempting to wordsmith or meditating, he serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW in Austin.
