Spurs G Ginobili cares about winning, not starting

Jun 9, 2007 - 11:09 PM By Chris Bernucca PA SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) - Manu Ginobili has been an All-Star. He has two championship rings, a gold medal, a near NBA Finals MVP award and a reputation as a winner that rivals Derek Jeter and Tom Brady.

So in late January, when San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich had the unmitigated nerve to ask a player of Ginobili's stature to give up his starting spot and come off the bench, the Argentine native replied the way any pampered, protective, egotistical player would.

"Sure, Coach."

The way Ginobili sees it - and the way very few other NBA stars do - he would much rather be playing at the end of the game than at the beginning.

"I still play the last five to six minutes, and I feel like I'm a very important player in this franchise," Ginobili said Saturday at the AT&T Center. "So not very big changes for me - only the fact of not playing the first five minutes."

In a league overrun by selfish players who are more concerned with minutes, shots and hearing their name on the PA system, it was an entirely selfless act by Ginobili, an unorthodox player in every sense of the word.

In addition to being lefthanded, Ginobili breaks down structure rather than following it and initiates contact rather than avoiding it. His nickname is "El Contusion," bestowed on him by teammate Brent Barry for his reckless style.

"He's all over the place," teammate Tim Duncan said. "He's great for our team because he brings the style of play where you don't know what he's going to do. He makes it up on the fly.

"He's an incredibly aggressive player. He just finds a way to make things happen. A lot of us play within our system, and he's one of the guys that will step out of that box, can the whole thing and take it in a different direction."

Popovich sensed that he had to take things in a different direction in late January, when the Spurs were completing a pedestrian 9-7 month and hearing the whispers that their time had come and gone.

The coach freely admitted that he had no idea if his plan to bring Ginobili off the bench and start Michael Finley or fellow aging guard Barry would work. The shooting guard position is the deepest in the NBA in terms of talent, and the Spurs needed to match that on a nightly basis.

"It was a seat-of-the-pants sort of a thing at the time," Popovich said. "The bench wasn't really producing a whole lot. I thought maybe it would be easier for Michael or Brent to play with the starting group and get something done, especially since Timmy gets doubled so much and they're shooters, and that would give us more energy and offense and activity off the bench."

At the very least, however, Popovich knew that there would be no grumbling from Ginobili, whose commitment to winning is unimpeachable and among the highest in pro sports, let alone the NBA.

"I'm fortunate in that Manu is the kind of guy that obviously cares more about the team," Popovich said. "Sure, he'd rather start, but he'll do whatever he's got to do for the team and would take it well and not moan and groan about it, so I was able to do it."

"It hasn't been tough," Ginobili said. "I took it very lightly since the first moment he told me. I know that even when I start, I'm not a player that plays 38 to 40 minutes, so my minutes didn't drop (that much)."

The plan worked to perfection. Playing three less minutes per game - and still out there for the last five - Ginobili averaged 16.7 points coming off the bench, a shade more than as a starter.

Popovich initially made Barry the starting shooting guard but later settled on Finley, who has started every playoff game. The Spurs won 25 of 28 games down the stretch and have carried that into the postseason, where they are 13-4.

All of this sits just fine with Ginobili, who two years ago was an All-Star and one media vote away from sharing Finals MVP honors with Duncan. Sometime next week, he may be on the verge of adding another championship ring to his legacy of winning.

And as the game winds down, you can bet he will be on the court.