There’s a story that Bruce Bowen, one of the best defenders in his era and a beloved ex-Spur swingman, enjoys telling to explain the impact of former teammate Manu Ginóbili.
The year was 2012, and Bowen was in London to watch the Summer Olympics. As he was walking through the historic city with Carl Lewis, who held nine Olympic gold medals and stood as the most decorated American track star of all time, a slew of sports fans in the area with heavy accents ran over to request photos with the men.
But of the 50 people who approached Bowen and Lewis, surprisingly only five seemed interested in being photographed with Lewis. The other 45 or so wanted pictures with Bowen. “I looked at Carl and laughed, telling him I could get back to him in a second,” Bowen recalls with a laugh. But the reality was, these were all people who basically knew me and wanted a picture with me because they’d spent so much time watching and adoring Manu play basketball.”
