The San Antonio Spurs are far from rigid. However, they were set in their ways about where the ball went and which shots they took. For the most part, the ball ended up in the hands of either Tim Duncan or David Robinson, who were tasked with making things happen. This was the head coach Gregg Popovich 's way, and his way was law.
However, all that changed with the arrival of Manu Ginobili during the 2002-03 season. Although he was technically still an NBA rookie, he was far from being inexperienced. After all, he was already 25, had loads of experience playing in Italy and the EuroLeague, and was the undisputed heart and soul of the Argentina national basketball team.
Popovich, though, admitted that his early coaching experience with Ginobili was often stressful, given the latter's penchant for winging it on the court.
Popovich isn't a control freak, but with his NBA experience, he had seen it all and knew what worked and what didn't. And what he saw Ginobili do regularly in NBA games was something he hadn't seen before, which led him to rein in the Argentinian in a little.
"I have no control over this guy, which drives me to be a little crazy myself," Popovich said . "He's just like an untamed mustang."
However, after gaining a better understanding of how the left-handed maestro played, Popovich realized Ginobili's awkward style actually benefited the Spurs, since opposing teams had no clue how to defend him.
"He's got moves that none of us have seen before. He's a real herky-jerky kind of awkward player in a sense, but with an unbelievable drive, and he's got great athleticism and he's got good ball skills," Popovich stated. "So that awkwardness, that unfamiliarity that people have with his moves really makes him valuable."
Spurs great Sean Elliott learned firsthand how difficult it was to contain Ginobili, marveling at how the 6'6″ shooting guard could find the smallest creases in the defense and fully exploit those using his crafty footwork.
"He understands footwork, that's for sure," Elliott shared. "You may step in front of him when he's going left and all of a sudden, he takes this weird step and he goes right, and it's a long step, and the next thing you know, he left you behind. He has crazy legs is what he has. It's difficult for American players to handle that because his moves are not traditional."
Manu himself admitted how difficult it was to adjust his play style to the NBA and what Gregg wanted. After a while, Ginobili was able to blend his devil-may-care approach to hoops with Popovich's more stern coaching style.
The combination worked, resulting in four NBA championships.
"I don't think that I got so much better in the last two or three years," Ginobili declared. "I just think I got to know my environment. I know what [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] wants, I know my teammates, I know the opponents, the refs. The whole NBA world, I know it better."
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
