Former Argentine basketball star Emanuel 'Manu' Ginóbili expressed his surprise at the excitement around seeing the twelve "old guys" from the 'Golden Generation' back on the court to celebrate 20 years since their Olympic gold win. He shared this sentiment at the third edition of the BID Lab Forum held in Buenos Aires.

“They convinced us to play again,” said Ginobili, recently back in Argentina. “Who would want to see us play? Twelve old guys who can barely move and don’t play basketball anymore,” Ginobili joked, but admitted his perspective changed after seeing the huge response to the announcement. “You realize it’s more a gesture of appreciation, respect for our careers, and the joy we brought to the country,” he reflected. “We’re happy to do it.”

The 'Golden Generation'—Argentina’s national basketball team that won the Olympic gold in Athens in 2004—will celebrate this milestone with a tribute game this Saturday, November 2, at Parque Roca in Buenos Aires. Tickets sold out in less than four days.

“We wanted to do something special to celebrate,” Ginobili said. It’ll also be “a special night” for the players because they’ll bring their kids along, many of whom never saw their dads play in those games.

“We haven’t all been together, the twelve of us, since winning the gold. In 20 years and two months, we’ve never been in the same place,” Ginobili shared, mentioning that they all live in different parts of the world, making it “hard to reunite.”

The Argentina basketball team made history in 2004, beating the formidable U.S. team in the semifinals and going on to defeat Italy in the final. “It was epic,” Ginobili recalled. “It’s the most important thing we achieved professionally. Nothing tops that.”

On August 28, 2004, Argentina made its mark in world basketball history, joining an elite list in an Olympic record mostly dominated by the U.S., which has won 17 of the 21 Olympic tournaments. The only other champions were the former Soviet Union (twice) and Yugoslavia (once).

“The tournament played out in a way where we saw a chance and went for it,” Ginobili said. He also won four NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.

Argentina's basketball legend began in 2002, when they won silver at the World Cup in Indianapolis. Over the next 15 years, they established a high standard in FIBA basketball: gold in Athens 2004, bronze in Beijing 2008, fourth place in London 2012 after losing the bronze match, and a quarterfinalist in Rio 2016—where Andrés Nocioni and Ginóbili retired from the national team—and in Tokyo 2020, where Luis Scola concluded his career.