(Reuters) – Argentine Manu Ginobili, one of the most decorated international players in basketball history, headlined the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 that was announced on Saturday.
Ginobili won four National Basketball Association titles during a 16-season run with the San Antonio Spurs and an Olympic gold medal.
A second round draft pick of the Spurs in 1999, Ginobili played in 1,057 games, averaging 13.3 points and 3.8 assists and helped the Spurs to championships in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014.
Ginobili was also part of the Argentina team that became the first national squad to deny American professionals Olympic gold when he led his country past Team USA in the 2004 Athens semi-finals en route to winning the tournament.
“This is another thing that you never expect to happen when you start playing ball. Thanks to everybody that help me during this journey!” Ginobili wrote on Twitter.
Also among the 13 members of the Class of 2022 are five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, two-time NCAA National Coach of the Year Bob Huggins, former NBA coach George Karl and longtime NBA referee Hugh Evans.
The Class of 2022 will be enshrined on Sept. 10 during a ceremony at the Springfield, Massachusetts-based Hall of Fame.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
