NBA: 30 most unguardable moves in league history

30 most unguardable moves in NBA history: 16. Manu Ginobili, Euro step

Every time that Manu Ginobili stepped on a basketball court for the San Antonio Spurs, he played like it was his last game. From his first game as an unsure rookie from Argentina to his 1,057th and final game, Ginobili left everything he had on the court night-in and night-out. Though his unconventional playstyle left many dumbfounded and his highlight reel passes landed on the NBA.com Top 10 consistently, it’s his Euro step that was truly unguardable.

Though many have tried it and few have perfected it, no one executes the Euro step quite as Manu did. With a ferocious gather and two furious leaps, Ginobili would evade a defender’s reach and float to the rim with a purposeful recklessness that left opponents questioning their own defensive abilities.

To this day, no one fully understands what made Manu Ginobili tick beside the man himself. His instinctive leadership and on-court creativity oftentimes left his coach, Gregg Popovich at a loss for words. Plays that would cause Pop to pull any other player from the rotation had no impact on Ginobili’s playing time because of his unassuming athletic ability and sheer competitive willpower.

Ginobili popularized the Euro step in the United States and used it to conquer many opponents. While many of his greatest Euro steps came in the earlier years of his career, his most memorable Euro step came in Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals. A year after the Spurs’ devastating loss in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, the Spurs returned with a vengeance and Manu was no different. He evaded Ray Allen with a leaping step, shrugged off his smothering defense, elevated off of one fit, and slammed down a redemption dunk over Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat.

Even in the latter stages of his career, Manu’s Euro step was deemed elite. A nearly unguardable move marked the career of a nearly unguardable man.