Manu Ginobili

Manu Ginobili played with a controlled chaos that made opposing coaches reach for their diagrams and come up empty-handed. In Game 2 of the 2007 NBA Finals, Ginobili stripped the ball away from a Cleveland Cavaliers possession and found himself in open space, but not entirely open. A retreating Cavaliers defender positioned himself between Ginobili and the basket, which was, for Manu, a different kind of invitation. He put the ball right through the defender's legs, collected it cleanly on the other side without breaking stride, and laid it in at the rim. The bench erupted. Cleveland's young star LeBron James, in his first Finals appearance, was learning in real time what championship-level improvisation looked like. San Antonio had LeBron James and Cleveland locked into a series the Cavaliers could not win, and Ginobili's creativity was a central reason why. He finished Game 2 as the engine of a Spurs machine en route to a sweep, his performance on June 7, 2007 reflecting the total, unguardable brilliance that defined his Hall of Fame career.

Championship Year