Manu Ginobili has played his final game, and with that a new era awaits the San Antonio Spurs.Ginobili announced his decision to retire Monday, the 41-year-old wrapping up what he called a "fabulous journey" in which he helped the Spurs win four NBA championships in 16 seasons with the club.The smooth left-handed guard from Argentina came to San Antonio in 2002, forming what quickly became a powerful "Big 3" alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Now, they've all moved on: Duncan retired two years ago, Parker left San Antonio earlier this summer as a free agent to sign with the Charlotte Hornets, and Ginobili has worn Spurs colors for the last time as well."Today, with a wide range of feelings, I'm announcing my retirement from basketball," Ginobili wrote on Twitter in making the announcement. "IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last 23 years. It's been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildest dreams."The image Ginobili... [More]

Manu Ginobili has played his final game, and with that a new era awaits the San Antonio Spurs.Ginobili announced his decision to retire Monday, the 41-year-old wrapping up what he called a "fabulous journey" in which he helped the Spurs win four NBA championships in 16 seasons with the club.The smooth left-handed guard from Argentina came to San Antonio in 2002, forming what quickly became a powerful "Big 3" alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Now, they've all moved on: Duncan retired two years ago, Parker left San Antonio earlier this summer as a free agent to sign with the Charlotte Hornets, and Ginobili has worn Spurs colors for the last time as well."Today, with a wide range of feelings, I'm announcing my retirement from basketball," Ginobili wrote on Twitter in making the announcement. "IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last 23 years. It's been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildest dreams."The image Ginobili... [More]

Manu Ginobili has played his final game, and with that a new era awaits the San Antonio Spurs.Ginobili announced his decision to retire on Monday, the 41-year-old wrapping up what he called a "fabulous journey" in which he helped the Spurs win four NBA championships in 16 seasons with the club.The smooth left-handed guard from Argentina came to San Antonio in 2002, forming what quickly became a powerful "Big 3" alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Now, they've all moved on: Duncan retired two years ago, Parker left San Antonio earlier this summer as a free agent to sign with the Charlotte Hornets, and Ginobili has worn Spurs colors for the last time as well."Today, with a wide range of feelings, I'm announcing my retirement from basketball," Ginobili wrote on Twitter in making the announcement. "IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last 23 years. It's been a fabulous journey. Way beyond my wildest dreams."The image... [More]

Manu Ginobili retired at age 41 Monday after a "fabulous journey" in which he helped the San Antonio Spurs win four NBA championships in 16 seasons with the club.The left-handed guard with the quick move and sure shot had a pro career that lasted 23 seasons in all, starting with stints in Italy and his native Argentina. He came to San Antonio in 2002 and formed what was a "Big 3" with the Spurs, alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.That era is now officially over: Duncan has been retired, and Parker elected this summer to sign with the Charlotte Hornets.Ginobili, the No. 57 pick in the 1999 draft, averaged 13.3 points and 3.8 assists in 1,057 regular-season games. He was a two-time All-Star and was the league's Sixth Man of the Year in 2008."Today, with a wide range of feelings, I'm announcing my retirement from basketball," Ginobili wrote on Twitter in making the announcement. "IMMENSE GRATITUDE to everyone (family, friends, teammates, coaches, staff, fans) involved in my life in the last... [More]

Semi Ojeleye, Cedi Osman and Royce O'Neale have never started in an NBA game. Cameron Payne last played in April. Matt Costello has scored two points in his NBA career.They're not stars.Yet somehow, someone in an NBA locker room apparently thought they should start in this year's All-Star Game.Only 10 players will start in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, but 249 players — roughly half the league — were listed on at least one ballot in the player portion of the All-Star selection process. And while some of the results might suggest not everyone took it seriously, making the list seemed to leave Philadelphia's Amir Johnson genuinely moved."That's pretty cool, man," Johnson said Thursday night when told that he got a vote. "That shows you how together we are. ... It's just everybody against the world. It's us against everybody."So guys like Ojeleye, Osman, O'Neale, Payne and Costello all got a vote from at least one player. Andre Iguodala, a recent NBA Finals MVP, did not.The league is trying a new... [More]

Isaiah Thomas' debut with Cleveland last week came with the same rules as when Kawhi Leonard rejoined the Spurs.His coach could use him, just not too much.Both were playing under the dreaded minute restrictions, which coaches learn to accept but will never learn to love."It really is a pain in the neck," San Antonio's Gregg Popovich said.Popovich has dealt with it this season with Leonard, Tony Parker and Danny Green. In their cases, as well as Thomas, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and others returning from injuries, the team's medical staff gives the coach guidelines for how much workload they can handle and how often — a challenge even for a coach who's been at the forefront of resting players."It's difficult because it's very strange to try to figure out rotations. You can't do it," Popovich said. "You want to put somebody on the court, but you can't because of minutes, so you put somebody else on the court that shouldn't be on the court based on matchups or what you're trying to do defensively... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid went from doubtful to dominant, using a sprained right hand that nearly sidelined him to instead rock the rim, swat shots and stop the Spurs."I want to be out there with them. I don't want to quit on them," Embiid said.Ruled out by the 76ers before tipoff, Embiid made the call to push through and play, and then dealt San Antonio a rare bad hand in Philadelphia. Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the 76ers to a 112-106 win over the Spurs on Wednesday night.The Sixers needed all 35 minutes from Embiid to knock off short-handed San Antonio and snap a 12-game losing streak to the Spurs.It was the same old Embiid during the 76ers' fast start. He grabbed a rebound and had a putback for the first score of the game and had six points and six rebounds in the first quarter.He slammed home an alley-oop in the third and never even looked at his hand as he sank a free throw to finish the play."I was fine. Nothing to worry about," Embiid said.Embiid, who blocked... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was in the starting lineup against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night after his coach said he was "very doubtful" to play because of a sprained right hand.Embiid had said his hand was swollen and it made him unable to shoot. Embiid, who leads the Sixers with 23.9 points and 10.9 rebounds in 27 games, was hurt Saturday when he took a hard fall against the Suns.Coach Brett Brown said before the game that Embiid was not likely to play. Embiid used a soft touch to sink a couple of shots during pregame drills, and that was enough to convince the Sixers he could play through the injury."When you see it, you see the bruising on his palm," Brown said. "When you go back and look at how he fell, you're surprised that's all it is. It's a club hand. And it's his shooting hand."The Sixers had been used to playing without their cornerstone center. He missed his first two seasons with foot injuries and was limited to 31 games last season.... [More]

G Manu Ginobili (rest) did not play Thursday.

NEW YORK -- Michael Beasley had 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field to lead six New York players in double figures as the Knicks spoiled Carmelo Anthony's return to Madison Square Garden with a 111-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.Anthony, who was with the Knicks for nearly seven seasons and ranks as the seventh-leading scorer in franchise history, finished with 12 points -- including zero in the second half -- on 5-of-18 shooting in his first game back in New York since being traded during the offseason for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round draft pick.Anthony received a mostly warm reception from the MSG crowd during a highlight video played during introductions. While there were loud cheers for Anthony, who averaged nearly 25 points during his nearly seven-year run but had little playoff success, there was also a smattering of boos.Heat 90, Clippers 85MIAMI -- Erik Spoelstra became the Miami franchise leader for coaching victories in a... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS -- Victor Oladipo scored 33 points to help the Indiana Pacers top the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-102, snapping their league-leading 13-game winning streak on Friday night.The Pacers made 15 3-point shots. Oladipo made 6 of 13 treys. Myles Turner added 15 points for Indiana.LeBron James paced the Cavaliers with 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting and also had 10 rebounds and eight assists. Kevin Love added 20 points and J.R. Smith 15 for the Cavs.The Pacers shot 44.2 percent (38 of 86) overall while the Cavs were at 43 percent (37 of 86).Warriors 102, Pistons 98DETROIT -- Kevin Durant had a season-high 36 points to go with 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks and Golden State won its sixth straight.Durant came up a few assists shy of a second consecutive triple-double after a 35-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist performance at Charlotte on Wednesday. The Warriors became the 11th team in league history to sweep a six-game road trip. The last team to achieve that feat was the Los Angeles... [More]

G Manu Ginobili scored 10 points in Wednesday's 117-105 victory over Miami.

G Manu Ginobili contributed 16 points for San Antonio in a win over Atlanta on Monday.

G Manu Ginobili missed Saturday's game for rest after scoring 18 points in Friday's loss to Milwaukee.

G Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 18 points off the bench in a 94-87 loss to Milwaukee on Friday.

G Manu Ginobili played in his 1,000th career game on Friday. He is the third to play 1,000 games with the Spurs, along with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Ginobili is the first player from South America to play in 1,000 NBA games and the second second-round pick to play 1,000 NBA games with one team.

G Manu Ginobili didn't play Monday as he rested on the back end of a back-to-back.

G Manu Ginobilli re-signed with the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday and it appears he will become the eighth player to spend his entire career with one team and play at least 16 seasons. The club did not announce terms of the deal but Ginobilli reportedly was re-signed to a two-year deal worth $5 million. The 40-year-old appeared in 69 games last season and averaged 7.5 points. He also shot 39 percent from the floor in 18.7 minutes per game. Since making his debut for the Spurs in 2002, Ginobilli has averages of 13.6 points, 3.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 992 games.

Manu Ginobili re-signed with the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday and it appears he will become the eighth player to spend his entire career with one team and play at least 16 seasons.The club did not announce terms of the deal but Ginobili reportedly was re-signed to a two-year deal worth $5 million.Ginobili will join Tim Duncan and Tony Parker as the third player in San Antonio history to play at least 16 seasons with the same team. The others are Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, John Stockton, Reggie Miller and John Havlicek.The 40-year-old appeared in 69 games last season and averaged 7.5 points. He also shot 39 percent from the floor in 18.7 minutes per game.Since making his debut for the Spurs in 2002, Ginobili has averages of 13.6 points, 3.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 992 games.The native of Argentina also is San Antonio's all-time leader in three-pointers (1,431), ranks second in steals (1,349) and third in games played.He is a two-time All-Star and also won the league's Sixth Man of the Year award in 2008.In 213 postseason games, Ginobili has averaged 14.1 points. Ginobili and LeBron James are the only two players in NBA postseason history with at least 3,000 points and 300 3-pointers.

G Manu Ginobili is eying a 16th season with the San Antonio Spurs, ESPN reported on Tuesday. Ginobili reportedly is finalizing terms on a deal that will allow him to play in the 2017-18 season and pump the brakes on retirement for at least one more year. Ginobili is a four-time NBA champion, an Olympics gold medalist and a Euroleague MVP, although his production has dipped in recent years. The Argentine averaged a career-low 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 69 games last season, during which he made $14 million. Ginobili has spent his entire 15-year NBA career with the Spurs, averaging 13.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting along with 3.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 992 career regular-season games.