Manu Ginobili is better than Hakeem Olajuwon

[Euroleague]

na

WTF?

Montecchia
Sanchez
Prigioni
Manu
Delfino
Nocioni
Scola
Sconochini
Oberto
Wolkowski
Herrmann
Farabello
L Gutierrez
Fernandez
Quinteros
Kammerichs
JP Gutierrez


That's easily the best Latin American team of all time.

[Kblaze8855]

Spanoulis beat

Spain (at peak years)
Yugoslavia (at peak years)
Lithuania (at peak years)
USA
Russia (at peak years)
Serbia (at peak years)
Croatia (at peak years)
Slovenia (at peak years)
France (at peak years)

and so on. Hell, other than USA he beat them all on multiple occasions, and beat several of them many times.

He also beat Arroyo and Puerto Rico 3 times.

International ball isn't "weird". It was the way the Warriors play, but years before that ever became a thing in the NBA (which obviously the Warriors copied from FIBA).

If you have a dominant lead guard in FIBA, good defense, a physical and athletic team, with a couple rebounders, and a couple shooters, you can win against anyone, as long as that guard goes off.

That's why teams like Lithuania and Greece (Jasikevicius and Spanoulis) were so good at those years, despite having much less talent overall than teams like Spain or Yugoslavia.

France on the other hand, was never as good as it should have been, because Parker's lack of outside shooting was always a weakness.

I think anyone who watched those games noticed the guard play is what gets you over internationally. Its kinda like college ball. One great guard...a point if possible...throws everything out the window. Especially if he can shoot.

[Levity]

theyre follwing the ISH threads model - obviously saying outrageous things for clicks and retweets. integrity? whats that?

[Loco 50]

Who saved that series?

Manu 19 ppg 64%TS
Duncan 21 ppg 47%TS (worst by a finals MVP in the modern era)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqdBeYXx4L0

Manu also beat Duncan in the Olympics with a much worse team.

I'd understand a fan choosing a team with Marbs, Melo, Iverson and Stoudamire over the Argies before their careers had played out. I'd still think they were stupid and not trust their basketball knowledge, but I'd understand.

After their careers had played out though? Kobe fans stay on that struggle bus.

Let's add a bunch of players with questionable at best jumpshots in Boozer, Marion, Odom and Jefferson with the complete offensive disaster in Okafor around the ball pounding ballas, and let's line them up against a squad that grew up playing together since childhood.

A squad in which each member was able to play their natural role and wasn't forced into roles that they'd struggle trying to fulfill. Like asking Wade or Lebronze to shoot perimeter shots while Duncan was manning the paint.

The Argentina squad would have been a Western Conference playoff squad. You'd think Laker fan would remember that since Manu and Oberto were 2/5 of the squad that waxed your f'n team, but Kobe fans always find a way to lower the bar.

As for 2005, the Spurs as a team beat the Pistons. They don't win without MVP level defense from Duncan. Too bad Kobe couldn't dig deep and change games with his defense. Always was a less impactful player though.