Yes, first name-only basis, please. Manu has earned it, and besides, in South America, athletic heroes are honorably stripped of their surnames once they’ve thrilled millions and made grown men sniffle. He is just Manu, uniting two basketball fan bases, the centerpiece of the friendly tug-of-war between two nationalities fighting for his affections.

'A beautiful player to watch'

When the gang from Buenos Aries sees him during pre-game warmups, the flag starts flapping excitedly and each and every arm reaches out, to touch him, to prepare for the hug that eventually arrives. Manu is refreshingly polite and in an era of distant and sometimes spoiled athletes, he is a man of the people -- someone who forgets he is internationally famous. The selfies, autographs and especially the pecks on both cheeks are delivered so smoothly and naturally that you can see why they traveled far to see him. They knew he would not forget them, just as they will never forget him.

Then comes a humbling experience for the Argentines: Their shrieks are eventually drowned out by The American fans in a sea of black Spurs T-shirts when Manu swishes a 30-footer to beat the shot clock against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thus, a nasty little secret is revealed. During this Spurs’ era of NBA success that’s now grayer than coach Gregg Popovich’s beard, Manu was and perhaps still is the most popular of Spurs; this is based unscientifically on the decibel level inside AT&T Arena when he flashes some of his signature swashbuckle on the court.

“A beautiful player to watch,” said Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who was Manu’s teammate for one season. “His ability to perform and entertain and stay effective for so long comes from being smart and knowing what to do and when to do it.”

Understand: Manu is not Tim Duncan or David Robinson, the twin foundations that made this 20-year run of Spurs excellence possible. But don’t get it twisted, either.

“He’s going to the Hall of Fame,” said Popovich. “First ballot.”

Twice an All-Star, he and Bill Bradley are the only players to win European, Olympic and (four) NBA titles. He carved a knack for elevating himself in big games and moments: Both Euro wins, the 2004 Olympic semis against Team USA, the NBA playoffs from 2005-11 when he averaged nearly 20 points a game. He’s part of the second wave of foreign-born players that helped change the league, along with Dirk Nowitzki and Marc and Pau Gasol. He made his trademark on being a versatile swingman, bringing a blue collar for defense (defying the European stereotype) and controlled recklessness with the ball. Plus, of course, he’s perhaps the best sixth man of this generation.

Manu Ginobili and Bill Bradley are the only players to win European, Olympic and (four) NBA titles.

Manu is now 39, body squeaky from years of pounding the wooden pavement while repping Argentina and also the Spurs in 15 NBA seasons. If you combine his NBA playoff games with his international basketball games it’s like five additional NBA seasons. He hasn’t yet said anything about retiring once the Spurs are done this season, although he drops hints with a smile and his eyes are darting and evasive, the telltale signs that he’s keeping a big secret.

He’ll ask himself all the necessary questions first: Is it time to spend more time with the boys? (He has three.) Do I really want to drag these tendons through another 82-plus games and chase Westbrook around the floor? Do the Spurs really want me back?

At some point he’ll pull Popovich aside and give the emotional speech that everyone knows is coming, and wouldn’t you like to be the fly on the locker room wall when the gruff coach then orders Manu, as only he can, to have his ass at training camp next fall, pronto?

“I might decide I won’t let him leave,” Popovich said dryly the other day. “I don’t want him to ever retire. I’m going to squeeze every drop of juice I can from him. Use him like a bar of soap until there’s nothing left, for his family or anyone else.”

An unlikely success story in NBA

Manu did not see this coming. The career, not the impending retirement.

Much like his style of play, Manu’s NBA years have been, and still are, what you’d call unorthodox. He was the 57th pick in the 1999 Draft, the next-to-last selection, wedged among the rest of the dreamers. Since they were coming off a championship that summer and had no room for a rookie that they didn’t know too much about -- Popovich barely heard of him — they stashed him in Europe.

He subsequently blew up and won Italian League MVP twice, proof that the Spurs are both good and fortunate. As an assistant with Team USA in 2002 for the FIBA Worlds, Popovich saw Manu for the first time. Manu helped Argentina beat tournament MVP Dirk in the semis before losing to Yugoslavia in the title game to take silver. Manu and Peja Stojakovic were named the guards on the All-Tourney team. Popovich had to sit down and compose himself: My goodness, he’s …good.

Still: Manu was 25 years old as a rookie and the Spurs were deep and humming along.

“I came here with a lot of doubts,” he said. “A lot was not expected of me. It was a very unsure time. I was coming from a completely different background. I was confident but still knowing that I was arriving to a premier, elite team and not knowing exactly what my role was going to be.”