The San Antonio Spurs are one of the titans of the modern NBA. While they never completed a three-peat like the Los Angeles Lakers or Chicago Bulls, or even won consecutive titles like the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors over the 2010s, they’re still respected as one of the best franchises in the NBA because of their 22-year consecutive Playoff appearances streak from 1997 to 2019.
The Spurs dynasty was built over two decades and featured three key players alongside coach Gregg Popovich. Tim Duncan led the franchise, retiring as one of the ten greatest players the game has ever seen and with five championships. Tony Parker was the starting point guard who won the 2007 Finals MVP and won four titles with the Spurs. Manu Ginobili was an overqualified Sixth Man, dicing defenses off the bench and giving the defense-oriented Spurs a much-needed offensive spark.
Everyone knows Duncan led the team, but who was the second-best player on the Spurs over this era? Former Spurs guard Nick Van Exel shared his take on who’s better between Parker and Ginobili in a recent appearance on the ‘To The Baha’ podcast, picking Ginobili in this battle.
“Tony would kill you with silence. He ain’t got a lot of moves. Manu was like a hood hooper. He’s going to cross you up, in-and-out you, he’s going to bang on you. Tony Parker was just right-left crossover, layup, pull-up jumper. He gets a lot of disrespect. He was like John Stockton. But both of them would kill you.”
“Manu can do so much with the ball. With Tony, I think he needed Tim (Duncan). Manu didn’t need Tim to do what he did, so when you talk about pick-and-roll situations, he’d reject the screen, bounce-pass, and that’s an easy assist. That makes him look good. Or mother—–, once he blows by you, you can’t leave Tim, so he gets an easy layup. If you’re just talking about letting them go to a different place and just hoop to see who’s better, I think Manu would be more valuable.”
Let’s take a look at the illustrious careers of both guards and see if we can determine which one was better.
Tony Parker Stats: 15.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 49.1% FG, 32.4% 3P
Tony Parker Honor and Accolades: 4x NBA Champion, 2007 Finals MVP, 6x NBA All-Star, 3x All-NBA Second Team, 1x All-NBA Third Team
Manu Ginobili Stats: 13.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 44.7% FG, 36.9% 3P
Manu Ginobili Honor and Accolades: 4x NBA Champion, 2x NBA All-Star, 2x All-NBA Third Team, 2008 Sixth Man of the Year
It’s well-known that Ginobili was made to accept his role as a Sixth Man by coach Popovich in favor of a defender in the backcourt alongside Parker. Parker was a better playmaker, which likely led to him getting the starting spot, as he’d be a better option to feed Duncan the ball than Ginobili. That doesn’t mean Ginobili couldn’t pass at a high level himself, although his scoring exploits were best used off the bench instead of in a starting backcourt alongside Parker.
The difference in their overall individual talent is best seen with their national team achievements, as Parker won a Bronze medal with France at EuroBasket 2005 and the Silver Medal at EuroBasket 2011. Ginobili was the star of one of the greatest international basketball upsets of all time, leading Argentina and winning the Gold Medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Parker definitely had a better career in the NBA, with his on-ball versatility and strong defensive tendencies leading to him being the starter over Ginobili. Ginobili might be more talented as a scorer and chose to sacrifice stats over his career to be one of the greatest bench players in NBA history. Coach Popovich made a fantastic decision by staggering the two talented guards rather than having them step on each other’s toes as a starting backcourt.
Ginobili would be a more useful guard in the NBA today due to his scoring prowess, especially from three-point range. Parker was lethal in the mid-range and while attempting layups, but the modern NBA would likely value Ginobili’s skill-set. But it’s hard to argue against the actual accomplishments of both players over their careers, so it’s fair to say that Parker was the better player during the time they were playing. Ginobili likely would be better today, but they’re both long-retired.
This will always be open for debate, given the differing roles and accomplishments of both players. Parker worked better for the Spurs as a starter because the ultimate star of the team was always Duncan. Nonetheless, all three achieved great things together, with Ginobili’s sacrifice of a starting spot essentially being the moment of genesis for this dynasty.
