As the Spurs franchise gears up for Thursday night’s jersey retirement ceremony for Manu Ginobili, current and former Spurs players have taken to the media to gush about their favorite Argentinean.
In a new interview with Tim Duncan, Mr. Fundamental said Ginobili “broke the system” in terms of head coach Gregg Popovich’s coaching style.
But the most telling part of his interview was that Ginobili had a much bigger impact on Popovich than fans might have originally thought.
“Instead of Pop changing people and breaking people of habits and having them conforming to what the Spurs did, Manu went the opposite direction,” Duncan said. “He kind of broke the system.”
That deviation taught Popovich how to be a more flexible coach, apparently.
“Pop is one of the best ever at figuring out what, when and how to pull the reigns in and let it go,” Duncan continued. “I think a big part of the reason that he is that way is because of Manu.”
Obviously, Duncan had a lot to say since he and Ginobili, along with Tony Parker, made up the team’s iconic Big Three. Although Duncan is known for being reserved, fans can also hear him praise Number 20 for his prankster ways (who can forget the water cup prank) and his work ethic.
Watch the full interview below:
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This article appears in The Pets Issue.
