Manu Ginobili Fades Into The Sunset; Ricky Rubio, Marc Gasol & Other Latino Players Are On The Horizon

What a drag it is, getting old.

Manu Ginobili, at 35, is not the player he once was. During the 2005 playoff run, the San Antonio Spurs shooting guard averaged 20.8 PPG on .507 field-goal percentage while putting up 5.8 boards and 4.2 assists per night. This year, the guard is largely ineffective. In the closing minutes of San Antonio's game 1 win over the Heat, Ginobili wildly missed an ill-advised three-pointer in the closing minutes, and would have surely been the game's goat had Parker not iced the game with a heroic shot-block beating jumper from the right side. Through the first two games of the series, the Argentine has made 6 of 17 shots, and is averaging 9.0 points per game.

Hardly inspiring stuff from the only Latino player in the NBA finals. But the future is bright for Latino ballers, with the following players showing promise on other teams:

1. Ricky Rubio
Age: 22
From: Barcelona, Spain
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Vitals: 6'4", 180 lbs.

The Scoop:
Widely regarded as the best European guard prospect ever, Rubio is heir apparent to Ginobili's throne. Averaging 10.7 PPG, 7.3 assists, and 2.4 steals his second year in the league, Rubio's electric play alongside big man Kevin Love has the Timberwolves dreaming of big things for 2014, 2015 and beyond.

2. Marc Gasol
Age: 28
From: Barcelona, Spain
Team: Memphis Grizzlies
Vitals: 7'1", 265 lbs.

The Scoop:
Before being eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs, Gasol was undeniably the most dominant Latino force in the playoffs. Long shrugged off as the less-effective younger brother to Lakers bigman Pau Gasol, Marc has come into his own, and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2013. His 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks this postseason compare favorably to Tim Duncan's.

3. Al Horford
Age: 27
From: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Team: Atlanta Hawks
Vitals: 6'10", 250 lbs.

The Scoop: 
Horford is the only player from the Americas on this list. At 27 years of age, he's also coming into his own. His 17.4 PPG and 10.2 rebounds were both career highs for him. Now, if he could only get away from the mediocrity in the Hawks franchise, he'd start to get noticed. Of course, some people do notice him. The NBA center is married to 2011 Miss Universe and fellow Dominican Amelia Vega. Yikes!