How an NBA Star Who Only Used One Hand Outscored Everyone

Did you know that there was an NBA player who

only

used

his left

hand

, a player who did something that

everyone

expected but no one could stop him well? His player was Manu Jobi and he dominated the NBA becoming a two-time NBA All

star

and winning four championships. throughout his legendary career, but why did he refuse to use his right

hand

and how did he manage to find success with his strange scoring philosophy? He wanted to go left, if he couldn't go left then, well, he would make some kind of move to leave. back left to discover it let's go back to the year 1977 in the Bajía Blanca Argentina where Emmanuel David jobi was born in an incredibly lucky situation because his father jge was a basketball coach in addition to being the president of his local Recreation Center he was in this Recck Center where Manu and his two older brothers would develop their love for basketball by fighting anyone who entered their court; however, Jah Manu, being the youngest and shortest, would develop a unique skill set to stay on the court playing the sport. he loved it whenever they could, the work family would sit and watch the Chicago Bulls foc

used

on their super

star

player Michael Jordan, while many watched Jordan fly through the air.

Janobi was concentrating on something completely different. Michael's crazy, competitive spirit. Manu would sit and dream of one day competing in the NBA, but being from a small town in Argentina, he thought the job would never be possible. Instead, he aspired to become a professional player in Argentina, as did his two older brothers, while Manu became a young adult. His peculiar game. His style and his incredible competitive drive would make him achieve his dream much sooner than many expected because at

only

16 years old he signed with Andino Sports Club, a professional team that played in the Argentine National League, however, he would only play one season with Andino. .

Before being traded to local team Bahía Blanca Studes in 1996, Jobi would go on to play for Bahía Blanca between 1996 and 1998 and his incredibly striking style of play at such a young age caught the attention of the Argentine youth national team who selected him for he represented his country at the Under 22 World Cup in 1998. Manu, along with his new teammates, would head to Australia, where Jobi would showcase his dominant scoring game. He could shoot from distance, spike people, as well as finish and attack exceptionally well with his dominant left. Furthermore, it was this incredible play in the under 22 championship that made the 21-year-old Manu selected to represent the Argentina Men's National Team in the 1999 Copa América.

This selection gave Manu a great boost of trust and Jobi still clings to his lifelong career. His dream of playing in the NBA decided to include his name in the 1999 NBA draft because why not? On June 26, 1999, the San Antonio Spurs had just defeated the New York Knoks led by general David Robinson and the number one overall pick in the 1997 draft, Tim Duncan. crowning them NBA champions shortly after their championship run, the general manager of RC Buford San Antonio along with their head coach, Greg Papovich, sat down to discuss who they should select with their 29th and 57th picks, given that They had just won a title that their goal was to exchange.

These picks to acquire Winn Now Talent, the pair would easily trade the 29th pick, but no NBA team had any interest in the second-to-last pick, so aie and pop had a problem: what are we supposed to do with this one? selection? If we even picked, they would look at their notes on international prospects and one name stood out because RC Buford had also been in Australia watching the under 22 World Cup and Greg Papovich remembered seeing a certain name from the Argentine National Team squad, so with the 57th pick in the 1999 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Emanuel Goino of Argentina, despite being surprisingly drafted high in the NBA, he opted to remain in Europe to continue developing his game because he believed that he wasn't ready to perform at an NBA level. would have the opportunity to play at the second highest level of the game because in Tori MSA, the head coach of the Euroleague team versus bologa had been looking for Manu since he became a professional player at age 16, so messina the now 22-year-old would offer him. had a contract to be the first player off the bench which he gladly accepted Sasha Danilovich, a legend of European basketball, was Verus' starting shooting guard and the player Manu was brought in to back up, however, just before the season started , this shocking output was suddenly withdrawn.

I, Manu, was now a full-time starter, a role in which he flourished, averaging 15.2 points and 2.9 steals per game. Led by Job's incredible play, he would not only win back-to-back Italian National League championships in 2001 and 2002, but he would also win a EuroLeague title. In 2001, it was during this championship series that Manu would show how dominant he really was, being named the most valuable player. RC along with Papovich had followed Manu closely and were realizing that perhaps he would not be a project but someone. who could help them win championships again, so they offered him a 2-year contract to start the 2002-2003 season and after winning a Euroleague title, Jobi felt confident enough to play at the NBA level, However, this international success meant very little. to the current players within the Spurs, their current star Tim Duncan said this when asked about Manu, he is supposedly a great find, he is the best player in Europe, so Bruce Bowen, one of the best defenders in the NBA , I would also question Job's ability to play in an NBA-level Bowen, I would test Manu throughout his practices by applying the same defensive pressure that he would use against players like Kobe Bryant and Job would rise to the occasion .

His competitive spirit and his peculiar style of play, something the Americans were not used to defending, would earn Manu the title. Out of respect for his teammates and head coach Greg Papovich, the Spurs would face the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers on October 29, 2002. It was in this game where Manu would finally begin his NBA career and he did so in spectacular way, his first time. The NBA shot attempt was a splashing three-pointer, making it clear that Manu had arrived and that he was ready to compete for an NBA championship later in the season. Jobi would prove to be a legitimate rotation player, but something was very different about the way he played. especially compared to his American counterparts, he looks strange, he has many movements or instincts that cannot be taught.

Manu's awkward playing style, which was made up of funky left-handed finishes, step-backs and athletic movements, would cause some tension between the coach's fundamentally focused pop and himself with the shared work every time he did something wrong I looked at him. and I tell him he shakes his head, so he was trying to figure out what he wanted and what he did, regardless of Pop's initial criticism, the Spurs would go on to a league leading 60 wins by the end of their regular season and he was ready to face the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Jobi would come off the bench and provide a vital scoring punch for the Spurs averaging 7.6 points that helped them eliminate Phoenix in six games, but it wasn't to be. In this series where Janob proved his worth, they were set to face the defending champion Lakers in the second round. Manu would score 15 points and 17 points in the first two games of the series, leading the Spurs to a 2 lead. This sudden ascending play caught the eye of a certain black mamba I remember Kobe Bryan telling me when Manu entered the I play as Bruce who is that white boy I said oh, he's no no, he's not any white boy, he, the Argentinian jobi was starting to gain respect. not only from his teammates but from the entire NBA, as the Spurs easily dealt with the Lakers who dominated them in game six, ending the series with a 28th victory.

San Antonio's in-state rival, the Dallas Mavericks, were the Spurs' final challenge in their quest to win an NBA championship. The 25-year-old rookie would shine again throughout the series, but in Game 4 alone, Manu had a breakout game scoring 21 points while shooting 66% from the field, leading the Spurs to victory and just a few days later they would eliminate the Mavericks in the sixth game, reserving their tickets to face the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals. Manu's eccentric style of play was winning him more and more fans with each passing game, including a certain former NBA player who went crazy watching Jobi play on the green. room tonight Kenny and you made fun of me last week I'm hungry just no BL no BL my new J B oh my god J and thanks to Manu's style of play Greg papovich was changing the way I looked at basketball the pop often I would yell at jobi for the wild moves he would make only to receive a simple response, he says monkey or this is what I do and from that day on we pretty much let him do what he does, so he taught me to be a little more patient in expanding.

My horizons think outside the box, a little more armed with the confidence of their head coach. Manu would play incredibly during the NBA Finals, scoring 12 points in game five and a crucial 11 points in game six. The work play made it clear that he was the San Antonio was missing a piece and the Spurs were crowned champions once again after their Game 6 victory. Job had gone from a 57th wild card to an NBA champion in justi as his first season in the league and things were only getting better for Jobi because to end the 2003 2004 season, San Antonio, buoyed by failing to win back-to-back championships in 2000, he had the second best record, his hard work was rewarded with a first round matchup against a very young but hungry Memphis Grizzlies;

However, the defending champions were simply too much for the Grizzlies, who easily swept them in just four games, this dominant performance resulting in a second round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, who were reset and ready for revenge for the first two games. , everything seemed to go well for Manu with the Spurs taking an early two games to nil lead. San Antonio would arrive in Los Angeles with extreme confidence until something mind-blowing happened. Manu would score 17 points in the third game and 21 points in the fourth game, but this was not enough for Spur San Antonio. to victory I had to do it once Sorry, the Lakers tied the series at two games apiece in game five with 29 seconds left, the Spurs had a one-point lead just a couple of spots away from returning the series to their level.

Please, but Kobe would be Kobe, he sets it. KOB avoids K. puts it, made the Lakers one 11 to go. The Spurs called a timeout, allowing Coach Pop to set up an out-of-bounds game-winner that all started with Duncan. double Shack overade unbel San Antonio was about to do the impossible, take a three games to two lead against Los Angeles and essentially end the Lakers dynasty until this happened, they got it, or the sixth scoring game was the last opportunity for Manu to want his team to victory and he did precisely that job, he would show his characteristic drives with his left hand to finish easily, drives with his right hand in beautiful pull-ups and showing a new movement that has not yet been seen in the NBA, stepping one way and then the other to maneuver around the Shack was much bigger, but Manu's 16 points simply weren't enough to beat the Lakers, who would win game six and eliminate the Spurs, crushing their hopes of winning back-to-back NBA titles.

Job was heartbroken, but he didn't hang his head for long because he wanted to. to show the world that he was more than a bench scorer and that, in fact, he was one of the best shooting guards in the world shortly after their crushing loss to the Lakers. Manu was selected to play for the Argentina national team once again, this time at the 2004 Olympics, this team gave Job a stage to show the world that he was ready for a much bigger role in San Antonio. , but could it dominate against teams like the United States? However, Argentina might not even get a chance to play against the United States because after a surprising loss to Spain and Italy they were losing a point without timeouts against Serbia and things were not looking good for Manu, but once again Jobi would prove his Unique play style by hitting this crazy Bank jump shot to win. against being I, propelling them into a semi-final showdown against the United States.

The United States after winning gold in 1992, 1996 and 2000 were hungry to win a fourth consecutive gold medal and many felt they were the big favorites, but Manuwould surprise the World once again scored an incredible 29 points against the United States, eliminating them from contention for gold in the middle, but their opponent in the final had already beaten them in the po game, so once again Manu and his team entered the game as the underdogs, despite this, Argentina was motivated to get revenge. against Italy and Job would once again lead Argentina throughout the game, scoring 16 points in what was at the time the most crucial game of his career.

Monu's incredible performance would lead Argentina to its first basketball medal at the Olympics and what a medal to boot. The icing on the cake was that Manu had shown the world that he was not just a scorer off the bench, but a world-class scorer, someone capable of taking a team to incredible heights and the craziest thing was that he was doing all this alone. . scoring with his left hand to begin the 2004 season 2005 San Antonio offered Manu a new contract worth $52 million over 6 years, which he gladly accepted buoyed by his gold medal-winning performance and driven to avenge his 204th mistake in the playoffs.

Manu would have an incredible season in The work on January 21st would have the performance of a lifetime for him scoring 48 points, the highest of his career. It was thanks to this play that Coach Pop would finally change his mind and elevate Manu to the starting lineup for the rest of the season. His new starting role allowed him to average 16 points per game and for the first time in Job's career he was named an Allstar for the 2005 All-Star Game. This nomination was a clear sign that Manu had not only reached the NBA but that he had San Antonio would finish its regular season as the second seed and was ready to face the Denver Nuggets led by their rising star Carmelo Anthony.

Most NBA fans and media personalities simply assumed it would be an easy task. sweep and the Spurs would advance to the second round without breaking a sweat, but this was far from the truth as Denver would surprise the Spurs in the first game winning by six points. This surprising loss caused head coach Greg Papovich to make a drastic change to ensure his season would not end tragically in the first round against Denver, so the coach would elect to start Brent Barry and shift the work back to the bench, himself. role he played during his last championship, while most people around the world would resent his coach. for taking away a starting job that they had worked so hard for Manu was different, he approached the situation with extreme humility, understanding exactly where the pop coach was coming from and it was his incredible relationship that allowed this understanding.

I became a much better player thanks to having a coach like that who made me understand how a team works but also off the field he started to become a father figure he became much more than a relationship between coach and player the incredible thing is that Popovic's play was great because Jobi would thrive in his new Off the bench is going to get the Buckets down 30 2 points in the third game helping the Spurs sweep the Nuggets winning the series four games to one he only knows how to play one way and that's tough, I mean, he's fearless, I like Manu, you know Manu would keep coming off the bench during their second round series against the Seattle Supers, but after the Sonics won game four, the Spurs They weren't in the position they thought they would be with the series tied at two wins.

Every coach knew something. It had to change, so in the fifth game, Manu was inserted back into the starting lineup and with the Spurs' championship hopes on the line, he knew he had to get the job done, he would score 39 points with a variety of hanging left-handed Flo from fadeaways, what is this? transition passing through left-handed dunks and slides that led the Spurs to a three-games-to-two lead in the must-win Game 6 in Seattle during Game 6 San Antonio was far from dominant and at 14.4 seconds left the score was tied at 96 popwood. put the Spurs' championship hopes in the hands of Job and Manu ran out the clock before attacking (you guessed it), his left hand finding Tim Duncan under the basket for an open layup that gave them a two-point lead at 0 .5 seconds left, but the Spurs knew it all. all too well what a team can do with limited time on the clock in situational winning situations and this time Ray Allen would get wide open in the corner for a potentially game winning three, comes free, hits a three, oh just fails and the Spurs would move on to the Western Conference Finals, where they would face the Phoenix Suns after Manu's incredible performance in games five and six against the Sonics coach.

Pop would put Chobi back in the starting lineup full-time and the Spurs only needed five games to defeat them. However, the Suns, what would come next would be their toughest matchup yet, the defending champion Detroit Pistons, fans and media raised many questions: Could the Spurs outscore incredibly defense-focused Detroit, or would the Pistons shut them down? Manu would score 26 points in the first game and 27 in the second game, leading the Spurs to a two games to none lead back to Detroit for the third game, however, this is where things started to go. terribly bad for the Spurs because Manu would only struggle to score seven points. and Detroit would demolish San Antonio in game four, winning by a mind-boggling 31 points, tying the series at two games apiece.

Manu knew that if he didn't have an incredible offensive performance in the fifth and sixth games, his championship dreams would be destroyed by the Pistons, while Manu would only score 15 points in the fifth game, he would impact the game in another way by using the approach of Detroit's defense against him, his job would be toss dime after dime to his teammates finishing the game with nine assists, however, it was his last assist that would be the most crucial also side note I know this video is about scoring, but Manu is a very underrated passer, very underrated anyway, let's go back to the video two down with 9.4 seconds left, the Spurs had set up a game winning from the rebound plate.

Tim Duncan would screen to give Manu an open corner three, but Detroit immediately counterattacked with a double team to try to force a turnover job, understanding the situation and the importance of trusting his team to immediately pass the ball. to one of the best late shots. creators of the world Robert Big Shot Bob ay for three, but the battle was not over, the Pistons still had 5.4 seconds left to take the lead and give themselves a three games to two lead over San Antonio, however, Tony Parker , another international player from France, would do so. doing some incredible defensive work on Rip Hamilton Parker forced him to take a very tough jump shot which he missed and crucially Manu knocked the ball away from the Pistons big man trying to return it, which Bruce Bone would pick up and dribble off the clock .

The Spurs were just one win away from winning an NBA title and with the last two games played in their stadium, the entire team was confident that they would win their second championship in just 3 years, but the defending champions had other plans despite Manu again. Taking on a heavy scoring load, losing 21 points in game six, Detroit fueled by wanting to do what very few NBA teams had accomplished by coming back when the NBA champions won by n points, the stage was now set for the last game of the season between the two best teams, whoever wins leaves as NBA champion.

PJ Kaliso, a Spurs assistant coach, was interviewed about W's play before Game 7 and had this to say: Manu is an incredibly special player, he is a warrior, he will play better in the fourth quarter. play better in the last three minutes of a game I think people now realize how special he is Manu would score 23 points in the seventh game, including these huge three at the end of the fourth quarter he throws him to the ground leaves him to encourage the two free throws, as well as the decisive ones, to ensure that Detroit had no chance of a comeback and that the Spurs were crowned NBA champions in just five years.

Manu Jobi had achieved something impossible by winning a EuroLeague Championship. MVP of the Euroleague finals. NBA Championship. Olympic gold. half and then surprisingly another NBA championship, the even crazier thing was that he was really only doing it by scoring with his left hand and the Spurs continued their success in the 2005-2006 season with Manu averaging 15.1 points and he was starting to turn around the way the guards would score. Against taller players with his unique movements, Jobi would often sidestep a big player to get them to move in that direction before stepping in the opposite direction to find a sneaky opening for a left-handed finish close to him.

The room that would be nicknamed the Eurostep The Eurostep is now an incredibly popular move used by almost all NBA players, but originates from Europeans like Manu. The crazy thing is that J didn't even realize that he was doing anything strange or unique, even this Euro Step. I was doing something unusual I was using the only tool I had to use, guys like that were 50 to 60 pounds heavier and taller and could jump more than me and to me it was so natural and so automatic with the Spurs again grabbing the best League record throughout the regular season, the stage was set for them to finally find the repeat, as NBA champions Manu would have an incredible performance in the second game of their first round series against the Sacramento Kings, losing 32 points, while the Kings would win two games.

The Spurs eventually defeated them in six and advanced to the second round against the Dallas Mavericks, a series that would change Manu Job's career for the worse. However, Dallas, led by their German superstar Durk Nowitzki, was a formidable opponent that carried the Spurs to the seventh game. With 32 seconds left, the Spurs had a three-point lead and seemed likely to be the team to go ahead and face the Phoenix Suns. Dallas made a nice out-of-bounds play to give the ball to their European superstar despite Nowitzki getting decent position. Inside the three-point line, the Spurs had a crucial three-point lead, so even if Dirk scored a layup, San Antonio would still be ahead.

He saw that Bowen was slightly defeated, so he ran over to provide help only to foul Nowitzki. going up and the foul job had done the worst possible by fouling Durk who made the basket and was heading to the free throw line where he tied the game at 104, but we all make mistakes and it was still the Spurs ball with 21.6 seconds remaining. that the shot clock was off if Manu timed it right he could win the game for the Spurs and his mistake on his last stand would be completely forgotten just like the sixth game against the SuperSonics in their previous championship run, Coach Pop returned the ball into the hands of Job. for the most important position of his 206th season, Manu would run out the clock before yes, you guessed it again attacking his left hand, but this time he missed the game-winning shot and HD would go into overtime, the Mavericks would dismantle the Spurs They won 118 to 111 and ended San Antonio's dreams of repeating as NBA champions.

Manu was devastated, we were all hurt, the faces were very sad and it was difficult to talk to each other because how upset we felt when the 2006 2007 season began, The Spurs headed to Paris for their training camp focused on avoiding making the same mistakes again with coach Pop commenting that listening is important so maybe we won't spoil the whiskey on the last play of the game we have another ring and a big Change was on the horizon for Manu's work. His regular season career in San Antonio got off to a rocky start and Coach Pop knew something would have to change for the Spurs to have another shot at winning an NBA championship, so he sat down with Manu and informed him. his new plan.

To help the Spurs get back to a championship level, Pop told Job that he would permanently come off the bench and this decision surprised Manu at first, it was a little difficult, it took me a while to understand it because he had worked so hard. hard throughout his career to earn a starting position, but over time he came to understand poic's thinking, once you understand the ego in the middle, I can understand that that was my role, that it was going to be better for the team and I always left him despite his initial frustrations. Manu would love his backup role, so I got to see more of what was going on and Job would finish the season averaging 16.5 points per game.

His dominant regular season included a 40-point performance against Atlanta,In addition to four 30-point games throughout the regular season, these performances would give the Spurs a first-round playoff matchup against a familiar opponent, the Denver Nuggets, but similar to their previous matchup with Denver, San Antonio easily disposed of the Nuggets and would head into a second round matchup against the Phoenix Suns, which came down to a pivotal Game 6 because Phoenix knew that if they won they would return to Arizona for Game 7 and with the energy their local public, they would be the team in motion. reach the Western Conference Finals, knowing the importance of winning this game, Job would have an incredible performance from the bench, scoring 33 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and six assists.

Manu's dominant play helped the Spurs in that game's series and now they were ready to face off. the Utah Jaars in the Conference Finals, a series in which Chobi would dominate with an average of 17.6 points in his powerful four games to a series. Victory on this occasion, the Spurs were ready to make their third appearance in the NBA Finals in 5 years, however, although their path to the final was much easier than previous seasons San Antonio was prepared to face a new opponent they had not yet met, the proclaimed Chosen One LeBron James LeBron was making his NBA Finals debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers and his path to the finals was destructive James dismantled the Detroit Pistons defense in their Finals matchup of the Eastern Conference scoring 48 points in game five and the craziest thing is that 25 of those points were in a row, but LeBron was only 22 years old compared to the Spurs, who had been championship contenders since LeBron.

In the league in 2003, this championship experience was too much for the rookie Cavaliers because Manu, along with his Spurs teammates, would incredibly sweep James and the Cavaliers in the 2007 NBA Finals. Jobi had won his third NBA title, the Spurs' fourth since 1999, you might think that winning three NBA titles in just five seasons was already an incredible resume, but wait until you find out what happened in the 2007-2008 season because Manu was really getting started to flourish in his role off the bench, averaging an incredible 9.5 points per game in his almost 20 years. The point average was made up of 11 games of 30 or more points and two games of 40 or more points throughout the regular season .

These improvements caused Manu to finally gain some recognition from the NBA, winning Sixth Man of the Year, as well as being named to the NBA 13. Setting the stage for Jano to accomplish something he had never done before San Antonio Manu and his teammates still hurt by their shocking loss in the 2004 playoff series against the Lakers were ready to take revenge. However, things would take a dark turn during their first two games of the series: Manu only scored 17 combined points in the first game and in the second San Antonio would return to Texas knowing they had to win both. home games for a chance to achieve his back-to-back championship dreams and Manu knew if he didn't perform in Game 3, he would feel the same pain he felt in 2004 and 2006.

Kobe and Manu would have one of the most epic guard battles in history. of basketball, the pair would trade blow after blow, both scoring 30 points throughout. the month must win the third game however the Spurs would finish the game victorious defeating the Lakers by a mind blowing 19 points keeping their championship hopes alive but this is where things started to go downhill not just for the Spurs and Manu but for Job's entire career because during games four and five he would only score 16 points. This horrible performance when San Antonio needed it most would result in them being eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers and not only that, this could have been the Spurs' last chance to win back-to-back NBA titles because Manu due to injuries would struggle throughout the entire season. the 2008 2009 season which would also prevent him from playing in the 2009 playoffs and in the following season something crazy would happen to Phoenix who had been at the mercy of Manu and the Spurs since he entered the league in 2002 he would finally get his Revenge by sweeping them in the second round of the NBA playoffs in the 2009-2010 season, however, do you remember what George Gin said earlier in the video?

Nobody only knows how to play one way and that's difficult, I mean, Fearless Manu was. one of the toughest and most competitive players on the entire planet and if you think about the beginning of his story, it's really no surprise why, because his idol was the most competitive and toughest basketball player in history, his job would change everything in the 2010-2011 season. 17.4 points and would once again be named an Allstar in addition to being named to the All NBA 13. The craziest thing is that NBA media personalities were actually arguing for Manu to be an MVP candidate saying that he was the best player of the league. team should therefore win, however Manu would suffer an injury just before the Spurs' first round matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, forcing him to miss the first game and Manu's absence would result in a loss of the Spurs.

This is when something shocking would happen because despite suffering a fracture in the right. elbow Manu didn't want to let his team down, so they taped his elbow and kept it together with a compression sleeve so he could be out there fighting, and he fought. Manu would lose an incredible 33 points in the fifth game of the series, which at this stage of his career seemed very normal for him, but I want you to imagine how difficult it would be for you to score 30 points just using your dominant hand, but for Jobi , someone who really just wanted to go left anyway had no problem playing. with a fracture in his right elbow and San Antonio would win game five just two wins away from moving on to the next round, however Memphis was too much for the Aging Spurs because the Grizzlies would put the final nail in manu's coffin during game six winning by eight points.

This loss ended the Spurs' championship dreams once again and something very unusual would happen during the offseason at 12:01 on Friday morning the NBA locked in on its players after failing to reach a new contract agreement. collective bargaining, it took months and months for new terms to be approved. They agreed to have the Spurs have their season opener on Boxing Day as opposed to the usual Halloween kickoff. This lockout, which was frustrating for most NBA players, was actually really beneficial for the Spurs and specifically Manu and once again history repeated itself because RC Buford performed a Draft Day Miracle, trade beloved veteran point guard George Hill to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for their 15th pick Kawai Leonard Kawai would prove to be an incredible pickup for San Antonio because, like Manu Leonard, he provided an instant impact for the Spurs, helping them clinch the League title. better record heading into the playoffs rejuvenated after their longest layoff, the Spurs would once again reach the Western Conference Finals, where they would face Oklahoma City.

Jobi would have incredible performances in the first and second games, scoring a combined 46 points in both games. leading San Antonio to a 2 wins to zero lead at this stage, many felt that the Spurs would beat Oklahoma with ease as OKC's core was incredibly young and inexperienced, but this was far from the truth, the Thunder would close out Manu in games three and four only allowed him to score 21 points combined, tying the series at two games apiece once again, like many times in Job's successful NBA career, Coach Pop needed him to be a class scorer world because Papovich felt a change in the series, so he chose to start with Manu. for the first time since the 2007 season, but would Manu, at 34 years old, be up to the task and save San Antonio's season?

Jobi would go on to score one point for each year he had lived on Earth but this would not be enough to save the The Spurs, who would lose games five and six, San Antonio once again failed to reach the NBA Finals. The Spurs were at a crossroads heading into the 2012-2013 season, as their core was nearing the end of their careers. Many wonder why he kept the core together on stage, but

everyone

in the Spurs organization knew something incredible was about to happen because the Spurs had done the impossible led by their young rising star Kawh Leonard returned to the Finals. of the NBA for the first time at Five Seasons San Antonio was set to face the defending champions, the Miami Heat, led by LeBron James, in the 2012 and 2013 NBA Finals.

Manu's play throughout the series It was much like their regular season, filled with many ups and downs. As you see, Manu had been a professional basketball player. player for almost 20 years at this point and it was this burden on his body that affected Job's performance when he mattered most. However, Job would shoot a horrible 36% from the field and average 2.3 turnovers per game in the first four games of the NBA Finals. Despite Manu's mistakes, the series was tied at two games apiece and they returned to San Antonio for a must-win game five. Manu knew that he had to step up, otherwise this could be his last chance to win an NBA title and he stepped up, so he did.

At age 35, just 42 days shy of his 36th birthday, Manu would score 24 points in game five as well as an incredible 10 assists leading the Spurs to victory against Miami when after the game he was asked about jop's game, the pop coach said this: I went from changing him on the spot to wanting to prepare breakfast for him tomorrow and when I spoke to him and told him Manu, he said: this is what I do, that's what he's going to tell me, the finals were moved from I returned to Miami for game six and something had happened. clearly changed in the series because with 29 seconds left the Miami Heat fans began to leave the arena, they were doing this while the Spurs had a five point lead and many simply assumed the game was over, the shocking thing was that they weren't just the fans.

NBA officials also assumed San Antonio had won, someone gets a yellow rope and hits me. I turn around, they're pulling the yellow rope to cordon everyone off and then I noticed they were bringing out the Larry O'Brien trophy, we have it at our fingertips, an NBA championship. However, just a minute before coming off the sideline of the Bounce play, Manu had crucially missed one of his two free throws, meaning the Spurs were only up by five instead of six, but just as that his silly foul in Game 7 against Dallas in 2006, if the Spurs won, then no.

One would even remember this, but thanks to an offensive rebound, LeBron would hit an incredibly decisive three-pointer, reducing the Spurs' lead to two points, but San Antonio only had to have one solid final possession, assuming Miami committed a foul, everything What they needed to do was make both free throws. and the game would be theirs, unfortunately, just as Manu Kawai would only make one free throw, allowing Miami to dribble the ball up the middle and the rest is history. Foul by the Tri Spurs, in case Miami goes for the three right away, just attack the basket, catch. the three W's go rebound BOS back to Alan his triple B San Antonio's worst nightmare had happened Ray Allen 3 sent what was almost a guaranteed victory into overtime, giving the Heat a chance to tie the series at three games apiece During overtime the score however remains locked with 55.4 seconds left and down, something tragic would happen.

Job looked to attack the basket, as expected he stayed but couldn't find a layup so he looked for a kickoff pass just to turn the ball over and if you thought this. It was heartbreaking, it only gets worse Dwayne Wade would miss a step back jumper and with 14 seconds left Kawhai would grab the rebound and Coach Pop opted not to call a timeout trusting his work to attack the Miami Heat defense but a Once again Manu would crucially change the The ball on Miami had done his best tying the series at three games, each forcing a decisive game.

Job seven was devastated and I wasn't there. I mean, something in me wasn't responding the same way, so you know, it's either a good game, a terrible game, a good game. terrible game and then we played a very good fifth game, we got to the sixth game to win it and we may have played the worst game of my career. I don't know, Miami would continue their incredible success in game seven and do something. The Spurs had never been able to win consecutive NBA championships. Manu blamed himself for the Spurs' final defeat to this day. I think I lost that game and we didn't win a championship because of me. 2013 The 2014 season, the coachpop would force the Spurs to watch Game 6 from start to finish, making each player relive all the emotions of their tragic fall in order to motivate them for revenge and what would likely be their last championship as a team motivated by their terrible performance in last year's finals Manu would average 12.3 points during the regular season and his incredible play at age 36 would see him finish third in six Man of the Year voting not only would he have an incredible season San Antonio would finish with 62 wins and they would make their way back to the NBA Finals the stage was set San Antonio against Miami in the 2013 NBA Finals 2014 before the series began Manu contemplated his chances we know we are facing a very talented and tough team and uh it's going to be tough but, of course, we believe in our means and we will do our best, as always.

San Antonio would play what many have called the most beautiful basketball in history during the 2014 Finals, no player was above the other, they would move. The ball with Precision found whoever was open, whether it was Manu Chob, Danny Green or Petty Mills, this Precision allowed the Spurs to surgically dissect the Miami defense taking a three games to one lead heading into a potentially decisive fifth game for the championship, but the heat was not over. ended up facing a challenge that had never been accomplished in NBA history before coming back from being down 3 games to one in a finals series.

LeBron and the Heat took an early 22-6 lead in the first quarter, however, the Spurs would fight back by executing. each possession with perfection and then, in the second quarter, Manu left everyone speechless after a rebound, he received the ball and attacked the rim hard in transition, he got that dun, it was also something symbolic for me, right. I had a lot of anger and disappointment from the previous year of my struggles and it was a huge shift in momentum Manu and the Spurs kept their foot firmly pressed on the Heat's neck for the rest of game five winning by 17 points and claiming what would be his fifth NBA championship in the Tim Duncan era. fourth Manu would reflect after the match sharing the moment we got that lead and said well this is ours and with the same group it was very satisfying and I felt like I still had something stuck in my leg from last year and I felt like you.

I know I'm cured Jobi would finish his career in San Antonio 4 years later as a Euro League champion, four-time NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist, the 57th pick in the draft, a player who was chosen because the Spurs had than to pick someone, he had become one of the best international players of all time and the crazy thing is that he did it only using his left hand, but you know what is even more shocking dominating the NBA at 5'3, which is exactly what Mugsy Bugs discovered by watching this video below.