It is impossible for a country that is active in international basketball competitions not to have a representative in the NBA, specially in Argentina because Argentina is considered to be one of the most successful national basketball team internationally.
There are quite a number of Argentinian basketball players in the NBA, but we will just talk about the best ones. Are you ready? Let’s start.
The Best, So Far
Emmanuel David “Manu” Ginobili is considered to be the best Argentinian basketball player in the NBA. He was born on the 28th day of July, 1977 in Bahia Blanca, Argentina. Ginobili came from a family of professional basketball players, that’s why there is no doubt that he would be like his father and brothers someday, and he did.
It was in 1995 when Ginobili started to play professional basketball, he played for a Andino Sport Club team of La Rioja that participated in the Argentine basketball league. He was then traded to the Estudiantes de Bahia Blance after playin one season for the La Rioja.
However, in 1998, he moved to Europe to play with Basket Viola Reggio Calabria for two seasons: 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. He entered in the 1999 NBA Draft as the 54th pick, and the San Antonio Spurs selected him, however, he did not sign with the team because he chose to return to Italy to play for the Kinder Bologna. He led the team to win the 2001 Italian Championship, the 2000-2001and 2001-2002 Italian Cups and the 2001 Euroleague.
He was hailed as the 2000-2001 Euroleague Final Four MVP, Italian league MVP in the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 Italian Cups. He decided to join the San Antonio Spurs right after the 2002 FIBA World Championships. He became one of the big three of the San Antonio Spurs, together with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, the three led the team to three NBA Championships.
The Spurs, again.
Fabricio Raul Jesus Oberto was born on March 21, 1975 in Las Varillas, Cordoba, Argentina. He started to play professional basketball with the Atenas de Cordoba at the age of 17. He was awarded the MVP of the finals of the Argentine league in the year 1998, and he eventually transferred to another team which is the Greek League club Olympiacos.
In 2005, when he was already 31 years old, he signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs, making him the oldest rookie in Spurs history. On June 23, 2009 he was traded to the Detroit Pistons and was immediatedly traded by the Pistons to the Wizards on August 11, 2009.
However, he became a free agent in the summer of 2010. Oberto is also a player of the Argentina national basketball team who participated in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He led the team to finish 5th in the said international basketball competition.
He was also a part of the Argentina national basketball team that participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics where the team won the gold medal, 2008 Summer Olympics where they won the bronze medal and the 2002 FIBA World Championship where the team won the silver medal.
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