Spurs legend Manu Ginobili helps out everywhere in Las Vegas, from passing on his gold medal knowledge to the Argentine basketball team to giving a birthday surprise to a San Antonio fan.
Ginobili was in Las Vegas on Thursday to chat with the Argentine men’s national basketball team, according to the group’s Instagram account. It wasn’t all basketball for the Spurs legend, as a San Antonio family visiting Sin City told MySA.
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The four-time NBA champion also spent time with the team at the Jean Georges Steakhouse on Wednesday. The restaurant is located in the Aria Hotel and is managed by Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Of course, any high-profile dining experience like Jean Georges attracts the superfoodie Spurs and Team USA coach Gregg Popovich. Maury Vasquez and daughter Valerie Hoffman tell MySA that the revered coach was there too, but sat alone at the bar and watched his protégé Mike Budenholzer lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a fourth game win against the Phoenix Suns.
Vasquez and Hoffman had a quick chat with Ginobili outside the restaurant. Vasquez, a former San Antonio television reporter, says his family ate at the restaurant to celebrate his sister Liza Garza’s 50th birthday. Vasquez says he caught the star’s attention by shouting “San Antonio loves you”. Leave it to a San Antonian to get loud in a fancy eatery – we support it!
He went to the family to bless Liza Garza with birthday wishes. Ginobili also had a chat with Vasquez’s mother, Alicia Vasquez, who told him how much she missed him. (I hope she convinced him to return to the Spurs in some capacity – who could deny Abuela !?)
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“In a hurry, but still a gentleman to the people,” says Vasquez of his encounter with the retired Spur.
Valerie Hoffman says her “child idol” has not let her down and is touched by the kindness he has shown her family.
The authenticity and accessibility that made Ginobili a fan favorite and a finalist for the 2018 Magic Johnson Award didn’t diminish when he hung the No. 20 shirt. A high on the track that can run a clinic out of humility and after all this time goes further into our hearts.
