Manu Ginobli, a key starter for the San Antonio S;purs’ 2014 NBA championship team, will not play for Argentina in the upcoming World Cup in Spain.
Ginobli, a key member of the Argentine’s 202 Olympic gold medal team, has been ruled out of the competition with a leg injury by the Spurs’ management.
Ginobli was hoping to play for his home country, but the decision was taken out of his hands this week. The Spurs were concerned about a stress fracture he suffered in the NBA finals against
Miami and the receovery time involved and refused him permission to play.
The Spurs have rationale on their side for this: They are paying Ginobli millions of dollars to play for their franchise and they don’t want to risk him suffering further injury.
Last week, Argentina’s team doctor said that the MRI exam results from Ginobli’s stress fracture in his right leg were inconclusive.
At the same time, The 37-year-old Ginobli developed his skills playing internationally, so there is precedent for allowing him to make the decision.
There is also a chance Ginobli, who was questionable for the Cup anyway, was looking for a way to bow out graciously without offending Argentinian fans.
The fact that the Argentinian national team is experiencing financial problems and NBA players Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni have recently voiced their frustrations over the fact the team had to cojnduct non contact practices because it had no insurance likely could have also played a role.
