This Is How Tim Duncan Realized How Good Manu Ginobili Really Was

During a conversation with Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan told the defensive standout that he was involved in the moment he found out Manu Ginobili could be a star. 

The San Antonio Spurs were essentially a title contender from the time that Tim Duncan entered the league to the time when he decided to retire. 

A big part of the Spurs' success was how they incorporated European players into their lineup. Since these players didn't come from the U.S. system, there were questions about how they would adapt to the NBA game. 

When discussing their early days with the Spurs, Dunca said to Ginobili on the BTM show:

"I remember first year when we had to practice, you had to play against Bruce Bowen and Bruce used to beat the absolute crap out of you. That’s when I kinda started believing or started seeing he had something; that he was as good as he was advertised."

And Ginobili turned out to be just as good as Duncan thought he good be. Following David Robinson's retirement, Duncan, Parker and Ginobili formed the new triplets in San Antonio and the team would go on to win titles in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011. 

The Argentinian Ginobili would have plenty of individual honors by the time his career ended as well. The guard would make two All-Star games and two All-NBA Third teams. He also was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year in 2008 and had his number 20 retired by the Spurs. Ginobili was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.