As the aging stars of the Spurs core continue to get older, many wondered whether their time was up especially after the loss to the Thunder in the playoffs.
Those sentiments continued to linger as the Spurs tried to pursue the services of Kevin Durant. But after Tim Duncan picked up his player option for next season, Manu Ginobili followed suit and announced his return for next season on his blog (in Spanish):
“La noticia más relevante para contarles es que ya estoy decidido a seguir jugando en la NBA. No tenía muchas dudas, pero como hago últimamente, quería dejar pasar un poco el tiempo y ver la temporada que pasó desde un poco más lejos. La realidad es que este año me siento más seguro y lo tengo aún más claro que el año anterior. La pasé muy bien durante la temporada y salvo el “pequeño” incidente de febrero estuve saludable en todo momento. Definitivamente quiero seguir disfrutando del básquet un poco más. Ampliaré en mi habitual columna en La Nación muy pronto. Dado que este no es un blog de básquet, seguiré en ese espacio contando más detalles.
Más allá de eso, como decía anteriormente, esta semana me entrené con bastante mayor intensidad tanto en gimnasio como en cancha. Sufrieron las piernas y pulmones pero era inevitable. Ahora es el momento de comenzar con los entrenamientos de equipo. El lunes me costará mucho, pero ya no veo la hora y tengo ganas de ver a todos los chicos.”
Translated, it reads as follows (as best as Google Translate can do it for us):
“The most important news to tell you is I am determined to continue playing in the NBA. did not have many doubts, but as I recently wanted to let a little time and see the season went from a little further. The reality is that this year I feel safer and I have it even clearer than the previous year. I had a great time during the season and except for the “small” February incident was healthy at all times. I definitely want to continue enjoying the basketball a little more. I will expand on my regular column in The Nation soon. Since this is not a basketball blog, I will continue in that space telling details.
Beyond that, as I said before, this week I trained with much greater intensity in both gym and on the court. They suffered the legs and lungs but it was inevitable. Now is the time to start training with the team. On Monday it cost me a lot, but no longer see the time and I want to see all the guys.”
So Ginobili is coming back next season even though he’ll be 39. His minutes and points per game are declining, but it’s still nice to see one of the NBA’s best foreign stars continue on despite all of that.
