Manu Ginobili entered the NBA as an unheralded second-round pick out of Argentina. His first seasoned was marred by injuries and tough adjustments to a style of play in the NBA that seemed hellbent on kicking out international players.

Somehow, Ginobili adjusted, winning four championships as a key member of the San Antonio Spurs. He even took down Team USA, winning Argentina a gold medal in the Olympics.

Despite the dry San Antonio climate, there wasn’t a dry eye in the AT&T Center on Thursday night. It represented the end of an era for most fans. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer Ginobili sat with his two longtime teammates, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, for what seemed to be the last time. Though Parker’s jersey will be retired soon and he’s making a last-ditch effort to extended his career with the Charlotte Hornets, the big-three that made fans forget all the winless years before them still shined bright.

“I’m telling you, I’m one of the lucky ones,” Ginobili said during a speech delivered partially in English and partially in Spanish. “I’ve been dealt amazing cards. I just had to play them OK. That was all I had to do.”

Duncan, Parker, coach Gregg Popovich, and Fabricio Oberto all delivered speeches. The ceremony took place after a 116-110 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fans basked in the glory of the last two decades and watched Manu’s No. 20 jersey rise to the rafters, taking an eternal resting spot next to Duncan’s No. 21.

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Patty Mills, Ginobili’s best friend on the team, played with special vigor, knocking down a three-pointer with 13.5 seconds left to seal a win.

“It’s a special day, a heartfelt day for a lot of people in the San Antonio community and far, far beyond,” Mills said. “He’s left a legacy that goes beyond what happens on the court. It’s been his passion, his energy, his competitiveness for the game that has really affected teammates, coaches and fans across the world. I’m very honored to be in a situation of being his teammate and being a close friend of his for many years.”

Last season, Popovich tried to convince Manu to stick around for one last year. The organization was in a major rehaul and would be without a single member of their big three for the first time since the 1997-1998 season. But Manu retired with a year left on his contract.

“He showed the folly of me trying to coach him too much, for sure,” Popovich said. “In the beginning, he was like a mustang out in the field someplace. That’s how he lived his life on the court. He was fearless, wild and did things that won games. So when I step back and look at, ‘Manu, I think that pass could have been a little bit better.’ That’s a pretty inane comment when he just did seven other things to help us win the game. So I basically learned to zip it as his career progressed. ”

“He was a skinny, little guy and wiry, strong, frenetic, fearless, physical and threw his body everywhere,” Popovich added. “He’d run into 7-footers. He’d get knocked down on the floor and get back up. Just the ferocity with which he played was infectious when we first saw him play as a youngster. That’s the first thing you see with Manu. Then, over time, his skills got better to where he became a 3-point shooter. He was always a fantastic passer. But he always had a knack for understanding what needed to happen to win a game. An offensive rebound or a steal in the passing lane — that type of thing that you wouldn’t expect. And it would be not out of the normal course of the game or game plan. He just did it on his own because he saw it and read it. Just a really intuitive knack for the game of basketball.”

Nick Collison was one of the most important parts of those early 2010s Oklahoma City Thunder teams that routinely made deep runs in the NBA playoffs. That didn’t mean he was an All-Star. His true value showed in maintaining a locker room for a team filled with budding young stars in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden and leading the team through the relocation process. It thus came as no surprise when the Thunder announced they’d retire Collison’s No. 4 jersey.

Collison Comments On Durant Jersey Retirement

Yet, when they retired it on Wednesday night, their first-ever jersey retirement as a franchise, Collison made headlines. He took the time to stress that even though Durant left the team on awful terms, the fans should be happy for the nine seasons they had with him. When asked about Durant giving him the nickname of “Mr. Thunder” and if he too would have his jersey retired, Collison responded with grace.

“It’s their decision to make, but I would certainly think so,” said Collison of Durant. “He’s meant a ton to Thunder basketball and spent a huge majority of his career here. A lot of these honors are just kind of what the team decides to do, and I think players are appreciative of them. I don’t get too worked up about it. I’ll let other people debate that, but to me, he’s a big part of what we did here.” It was that same mentality that made him so valuable to the franchise.

Even though he wasn’t scheduled to be in Oklahoma City at the time, Durant made sure to return for Collison’s ceremony.

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Collison played his entire 14-year career with the Thunder. He was one of the last remaining Seattle Supersonics. Durant played one year on the West Coast as well. “Mr. Thunder” watched the wing develop into a superstar, win an MVP and eventually leave for the Golden State Warriors, who were coming off a record season.

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant is planning to return to Oklahoma City for the jersey retirement of Nick Collison, his longtime teammate nicknamed “Mr. Thunder.”

Durant Set To Go Back To OKC

Durant told ESPN, “that group was so special, that whole group from 2010 until I left there, it was special. It’s about time for us to let go of all that extra stuff, and just come together — especially around this time, because it’s Nick.”

There are questions about Durant’s return. He’s been booed every time he’s returned to Oklahoma and has turned into one of the NBA’s biggest villains. There was the time he used a burner Twitter account to trash his teammates. Then, when he left the Thunder because he couldn’t hold on to a 3-1 series lead against the Warriors, he called it “the hardest road.” This was what he said when he left his team high and dry to join Golden State, who already had three All-Stars and set the record for most wins in a season with 73 that year.

Durant’s statement really should read: “Hey, I left you guys with nothing, trashed you on the Internet, claimed we’re all good, and still texted my agent and Warriors management during that series we blew. But hey, you guys need to move on.”

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Despite this, the Thunder plan to accommodate Durant. KD said that Collison was his go-to vet when he was first drafted. Ex-teammates from Collison’s time in Seattle and Oklahoma City are expected to attend the ceremony. When the SuperSonics left Seattle, Collison held down the team and helped Durant develop into the player he is now.

There’s speculation that this return could point to another during free agency. While with the Miami Heat, LeBron James returned to Cleveland for Zydrunas Ilgauskas‘s jersey retirement ceremony. The next season he was back on the court with the Cavs. But unlike Cleveland, the Thunder have moved on. Russell Westbrook blossemed into a perennial MVP candidate and Paul George resigned with the team and is now having a career-defining year.

While Durant and OKC won’t agree on a deal this offseason, they both agree that Collison was a special player in franchise history.