When Manu Ginobili Took LeBron TO SCHOOL...

There was a time when Manu Ginobili took LeBron James to school. Back in the mid 2000’s Manu was the slickest guy in the league. So quick and crafty with the left hand and the eurostep, he was impossible to guard. Some of his forgotten highlights of that time are simply ridiculous and would’ve broken the internet if it happened today. Many people forget how close was game 4 of the 2007 NBA Finals between San Antonio and Cleveland. The general opinion was that Bron was too young… He played with a bunch of nobodies… And the Spurs were the best team on the planet… That’s all true, but if it wasn’t for Manu Ginobili, the Cavs would’ve easily prolonged the series. The visitors were in control for most of the game, but the home team led by James and Donyell Marshall opened the final period with an electric 11-0 run to take over the lead. Geez, Bron was the epitome of a one man wrecking crew in these Finals. Again, he orchestrated the offense to the best of his abilities and the Cavs went up by 3 points on this layup by Boobie Gibson in the middle of the 4th. A score of 60 to 63 after 40 minutes of action is crazy by the way. But the Cleveland joy didn’t last long. Manu splits the defense with his patented move and gets the and-1. Then, just 2 possessions later, he hits a triple right between LeBron’s eyes. And after a rare miss by Gino in the clutch, James makes a rookie mistake… But the Argentinian doesn’t miss twice… Ginobili gave the Spurs a 7 point lead, and with little time left, he iced the game by hitting both free throws ever so calmly. He scored 13 of San Antonio’s 23 points in the final period, pushing them over the hump. Manu finished the game with 27 off the bench and the Spurs lifted their 3rd title in the last 5 years. The following season, LeBron was eager for revenge, and he had a chance to do it in front of his own fans. And he bursted out of the gates, putting his team up by double digits early in the 2nd period. But Ginobili wouldn’t give up without a fight. It wasn’t in his DNA. Manu responded with 13 points in the 2nd period to cut the deficit to 1 heading into the break. With Tony Parker out with an injury, and Tim Duncan shooting just 3 of 9 from the field in the 1st half, the entire offensive weight fell on Ginobili’s shoulders. And he was more than ready to carry the burden. Manu put LeBron to sleep with the pump fake before the swish. On the next play, he got two defenders up in the air before serving up Horry for the easy deuce. Bron was sick and tired of all of it, so he did this! That was impressive, but Ginobili freezing up the entire defense with the fake pass was even better! The Spurs didn’t have a guy that could stop James 1 on 1, so he took advantage of the mismatches early in the 4th. Down by 6, it was time for Manu to ramp up the pace! Both guys took turns in a game of what you can do I can do better! Dimes, 3’s, you name it. It was an all-out war! LeBron continues with a sky scraping alleyoop… While Manu chooses to hit the open man in the corner. Down by 2, Bron starts to chase around Ginobili but at this point, it didn’t matter. Everything was going in. Look at James’ body reaction after that 3 went in. It was soul crushing. \Kick them while they’re down! Manu delivers what turned out to be the dagger! He absolutely balled out in a head to head matchup against the best player in the league, outscoring Bron 46 to 39 on a blistering 75% shooting from the field and 8 of 11 from downtown! He added 8 assists and 3 steals to circle up the masterful performance in the road win in Cleveland. Amazing! Ginobili was the ultimate team player, sacrificing a potential superstar career for the Spurs success, bringing in 4 championships in his time with the franchise. But he proved on a couple of occasions like this that he can face up against the best of them. Kobe Bryant was another one of those guys who had a very high opinion of Manu. And since I mentioned Kobe, I made a video of the exact 9 game streak that made him a legend. It was the season that he took over the keys to the franchise from Shaq, and he did it in furious fashion! Click right here to check it out and I’ll talk to you in the next one, peace out.