Spurs news Manu Ginobili reveals that a car accident almost killed him back in 2004.

Spurs news: San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili has left fans with tons of memorable highlights, from fancy layups to clutch baskets that helped the franchise win four NBA titles. The future Hall of Famer decided to call it a career in 2016, and there is no denying that his number will soon be hung in the rafters of the AT&T Center.

But did you know that Ginobili almost died in 2004? Yes, the Argentinian star revealed that he was involved in a car accident that almost ended his life that year.

“In 2004… during my honeymoon, I got a car in the front of me that passed a truck on a curve. I threw myself on the shoulder and began to skid. I could have killed someone. I could have slammed against a tree. I could fallen on a cliff or hit the driver head on. There would have been no Olympic games. There was no more career. It was a flip of the coin in the air. Luck.”

The NBA has seen several careers cut short by accidents, including Drazen Petrovic, Len Bias, and Malik Sealy. Ginobili was fortunate enough to survive and he went on to have a great career with the Spurs.

Ginobili averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 1,057 games with the Spurs. He made the All-Star team two times and won the 2008 Sixth Man of the Year Award. He’s also widely recognized as one of the greatest non-American NBA players of all-time. We were fortunate enough to see him play, whether we liked San Antonio or not.

The Spurs built their dynasty around Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Ginobili. They each had a ton of contribution in the franchise’s success. Without them, who knows how good San Antonio will be?

There’s still one icon that remains with the Spurs, and that is head coach Gregg Popovich, who recently set the record for the longest tenure in coaching one franchise. Once Pop is gone, it will officially be the end of an era in San Antonio.

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Cavs news Kevin Durant says Cleveland was the best team in the NBA back in 2016.

Cavaliers news: It has only been two years since the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped their NBA Finals streak to four, as their superstar back then, LeBron James, chose to leave and join the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, they had a memorable title run back in 2016, and Kevin Durant was quick to recognize how great that team was.

Durant was asked to rank the worst losses of his career, and in his answer, he said that blowing a 3-1 lead against the 2016 Golden State Warriors team wasn’t part of his top five.

“It doesn’t rank in the top five. I mean, we lost Game 2 at home in 2012 to Miami — that was a tough loss. We lost Game 5 against Memphis at home. It was a 2-2 series, and they went up 3-2. Those are tough losses to me.”

However, KD did admit that he felt that the Oklahoma City Thunder had the momentum back in 2016, especially after they eliminated the 67-win San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the playoffs. The two-time Finals MVP thought that his Thunder had the chance to face the Cavs in the Finals, the team he dubbed as the best in the league that year.

“I really, really, really felt like we had an opportunity, we had some momentum. We were playing against a 73-win team in the Warriors and the Spurs, who were a 67-win team that year. And then the Cavs were the best team in the league — the most talented team. So I’m like, ‘Wow, an uphill climb. Let’s see what we can do.'”

The Warriors also blew a 3-1 series lead against the Cavaliers in the Finals, and after losing the title, Golden State signed Durant in the offseason. This allowed the Dubs to win two straight championships at Cleveland’s expense.

2016 was indeed a great year for the Cavaliers and the city of Cleveland. Although the team is rebuilding right now, what they’ve done during that year will forever be remembered as one of the greatest moments in the history of sports. Only time will tell if the Cavs can replicate that success in the near future. They have a couple of young pieces to build around in Colin Sexton and Darius Garland, and if both guys turn out to be superstars, they might be able to compete for a championship sooner than what most people expect.

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Suns news Ricky Rubio says he's in his prime, ready to make a difference in Phoenix.

Suns news: Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio is coming off an impressive stint in the FIBA World Cup wherein he successfully led the Spanish national men’s basketball team to a gold medal finish. Now, he wants to keep the momentum going as he intends to make a positive impact with the Phoenix Suns.

Rubio signed a three-year, $51 million deal to join the Suns this summer, and he confidently declared that fans will see him play at him play the best basketball years of his career over the next couple of seasons.

“I’m fully expecting to play the best game, the best play of my career in these next two or three years. I’m going to hit my prime mentally and physically and I’ve been working super hard for that.”

Even before Rubio led Spain to the World Cup title, he’s already claiming that he’s in his prime, and given his performance in the Suns’ 124-95 win against the Sacramento Kings (he put up 11 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists), there’s no reason why Suns fans shouldn’t be excited about him.

Suns assistant coach Steve Blake is a fan of the Rubio signing, and he’s excited to see how well the Spanish star will make his teammates better.

“Ricky Rubio is an ultimate point guard, pass-first guy that’s gonna create and make guys have fun when they’re on the court.”

But Rubio didn’t join the Suns just to prove himself. He also wants to help the younger guys on the team take their game to the next level, particularly Devin Booker.

“I want to see how good a scorer he is, and how good a player he has been. And if there are some areas where I can help [Booker] become an All Star, I will try to do that too.”

Rubio has had a steady NBA career, and while it is unlikely for him to become an All-Star, he’s still one of the best pure point guards in the league. Only time will tell if he will indeed have a career season in Phoenix, but his confidence alone should already tell you that he intends to help make the Suns become a better team.

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Nuggets news: Nikola Jokic not using personal goals as motivation, says winning matters the most.

Nuggets news: A lot of people are expecting great things from Nikola Jokic this season. After an impressive 2018-19 campaign which saw him lead the Denver Nuggets to the second-best record in the West, he’s now widely recognized as some of the league’s best players, and to some, it is only a matter of time before he starts competing for the MVP award.

But Jokic has no intentions of going after the MVP honors, as he prefers to help the Nuggets win rather than chase an individual accolade.

“It’s not something you chase personally. I just work to get wins, that’s the most important thing.”

The seven-foot All-Star added that he’s not setting any personal goals because it creates unnecessary pressure, and he doesn’t want that kind of distraction.

“I never have goals just because I think goals, they make you feel pressure, make you feel nervous, stress, whatever, like if I don’t make it I’m going to die,” the Serbian big man said. “I just go out there and try to win it, game, practice, a set, even in the weight room.”

Although he’s starting to make a name for himself in the NBA, Jokic remains one of the humbest guys in the league. Even when he received the news of people saying that he’s the face of the Nuggets, he refused to take all the credit and said that his teammates also helped bring Denver to where it is now.

“I think the media and guys outside of basketball put me in front of the team. Denver Nuggets is team basketball. There are no individuals. We are winning and losing as a team. It’s not me or anybody in front of the team.”

The Nuggets are one of the favorites to win the NBA championship this year, and Jokic is the biggest reason behind that. As the 2019-20 season progresses, we’ll see how well the team measures up to some of the NBA’s top contenders, and we’ll see if Jokic can raise his game to yet another level.

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Bucks news: Giannis Antetokounmpo says he wants to become a better leader for Milwaukee this season.

Bucks news: Reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo determined to get better as a leader for the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

After a heartbreaking loss in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals, Giannis Antetokounmpo knows he has something to prove with the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

The Greek Freak is pretty much confident with who he is as a player. After all, he won the 2018-19 MVP award against tough competition from Houston Rockets superstar James Harden. However, he acknowledged that he has plenty of room for improvement -- especially as a leader.

“Mostly, you just gotta be more vocal. You gotta lead by example. You gotta be able to accept criticism by your coach, by your teammates, and be OK with it. That’s what a leader does,” Antetokounmpo said. “I know that my team knows who I am. They trust me. They know I’m going to put my body and everything I have on the line for this team. By doing that, everything else will take care of itself.”

Antetokounmpo added that while the Bucks’ primary goal is to win a championship, they need to focus on what they need to do right now rather than look too far in the future.

“We are going to have the same hunger, but what I want to say is: the Eastern Conference Finals, I’m not going to lie, it’s like six, seven months away from now. It’s about tomorrow. It’s about how can we get better tomorrow.”

Unlike the past five years, the NBA looks like an even playing field this season, as half of the teams in the league have a legitimate shot at winning the championship.

The Bucks are one of the top favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy, but they might find it more difficult to win games this season compared to the previous one.

Most of the contenders have significantly upgraded their rosters in preparation for this campaign. The Bucks didn’t make a big splash this summer, though in reality, they didn’t have to.

Milwaukee has one of the five best players in the world in Giannis, and they have provided him with a great supporting cast as well.

In fact, they just showed everyone just how good they are in their showdown against the revamped Houston Rockets, a team that paraded two former MVPs in Harden and Russell Westbrook. The Bucks still won 117-111 behind Antetokounmpo’s triple-double of 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.

From this point forward, every game counts, and it’s time for the Bucks to prove that last season was no fluke. It’s time for Giannis to show the rest of the opposition why he’s the reigning MVP.

So far, they’re off to a good start.

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Clippers news: Paul George thinks superstar duos are going to be good for the NBA.

Clippers news: The 2018-19 season has officially begun and fans were able to get a glimpse of some of the league’s top contenders. One of the biggest storylines this year is the formation of superstar duos around the league, highlighted by the Los Angeles Clippers’ acquisition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

And for George, super tandems are the new dynamic for this generation’s NBA..

“Everybody was looking for a Big Three. It didn’t work for a lot of teams, so now this is a new dynamic for the new generation of this league.”

George was traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Clippers this summer after the All-Star forward finally decided that he wanted to come home. And while he’s still a couple of weeks away from making his much-anticipated debut with his new team, a lot has been said about the Clips being the favorites to win the championship this year.

But it wasn’t long ago when superstars recruited two other players in the same level as they are to form a superteam. The 2008 Boston Celtics and the 2010 Miami Heat were two of the pioneers of the Big Three era, and while PG acknowledges their contributions and accomplishments, he admits that he likes the idea of teams building around two stars.

“I think what Boston did was special. I think what Miami did was special. But I think it goes back to you have two guys that are the guys and then you have a group around them that supports them to the highest level, and that foundation is around a lot of guys in this league.”

It will be interesting to see if the NBA will continue with this two-superstar-per-franchise craze or not. History shows that every decade, a superteam has always dominated the league. In fact, one could argue that a blockbuster trade could turn one of these Big Twos into a Big Three. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens moving forward.

But for someone like George, competition matters, and playing in a league where majority of the contenders have a legitimate shot at winning the title is what will keep him motivated all season long.

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Suns news: Ricky Rubio says he's in his prime, ready to make a difference in Phoenix.

Suns news: Veteran point guard Ricky Rubio is coming off an impressive stint in the FIBA World Cup wherein he successfully led the Spanish national men’s basketball team to a gold medal finish. Now, he wants to keep the momentum going as he intends to make a positive impact with the Phoenix Suns.

Rubio signed a three-year, $51 million deal to join the Suns news Suns this summer, and he confidently declared that fans will see him play at him play the best basketball years of his career over the next couple of seasons.

“I’m fully expecting to play the best game, the best play of my career in these next two or three years. I’m going to hit my prime mentally and physically and I’ve been working super hard for that.”

Even before Rubio led Spain to the World Cup title, he’s already claiming that he’s in his prime, and given his performance in the Suns’ 124-95 win against the Sacramento Kings (he put up 11 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists), there’s no reason why Suns fans shouldn’t be excited about him.

Suns assistant coach Steve Blake is a fan of the Rubio signing, and he’s excited to see how well the Spanish star will make his teammates better.

“Ricky Rubio is an ultimate point guard, pass-first guy that’s gonna create and make guys have fun when they’re on the court.”

But Rubio didn’t join the Suns just to prove himself. He also wants to help the younger guys on the team take their game to the next level, particularly Devin Booker.

“I want to see how good a scorer he is, and how good a player he has been. And if there are some areas where I can help [Booker] become an All Star, I will try to do that too.”

Rubio has had a steady NBA career, and while it is unlikely for him to become an All-Star, he’s still one of the best pure point guards in the league. Only time will tell if he will indeed have a career season in Phoenix, but his confidence alone should already tell you that he intends to help make the Suns become a better team.

Follow ClutchPoints for the latest Phoenix Suns news and updates.