Tony Parker · Biography

Tony Parker won the first title of his career in 2000. That year France took the European Under-18 Championship in Zadar, beating Croatia in the final. William Anthony Parker Jr. was born on May 17, 1982, in Bruges, Belgium. His father, Tony Parker Sr., was an American basketball player who played professionally in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and his mother, Pamela Firestone, was a model. A point guard, he spent 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and won four NBA championships with them. He was named Finals MVP in 2007.

Early years in Normandy and at INSEP

Parker grew up in France. He registered with his first club, Fécamp, in 1992-93, then played for Déville-lès-Rouen from 1993 to 1996 and for Mont-Saint-Aignan in 1996-97. During those years he attended the Jean-Baptiste-de-La-Salle school in Rouen. In 1997 he joined the French federation’s training centre at INSEP in Paris. He spent two seasons there, 1997-98 and 1998-99, and played 59 games for the Centre fédéral in Nationale 1, the third tier of French basketball.

Paris Basket Racing and the NBA draft

Parker signed with Paris Basket Racing in 1999 and made his Pro A debut in the 1999-2000 season. He played a minor role behind Laurent Sciarra and averaged 3.9 points, and the Paris side went out in the first round of the playoffs against ASVEL. Along with the European junior title, 2000 brought 20 points and 7 assists at the Nike Hoop Summit in Indianapolis. He averaged 14.7 points in his second season in Paris. The San Antonio Spurs then selected him with the 28th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft.

Four championships in San Antonio

Parker made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2002. A year later the Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets in the Finals, and he had his first NBA title. His second came in 2005 against the Detroit Pistons. In 2007 San Antonio swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0, and Parker was named Finals MVP. He had his highest scoring average in 2008-09, at 22.0 points per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team that season. He was an All-Star in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and made the All-NBA Second Team in 2012, 2013 and 2014. He scored his 15,000th point on November 6, 2013. In 2014 the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat in the Finals, and Parker won his fourth ring. With San Antonio he played 1,198 regular-season games, second in franchise history behind Tim Duncan. He scored 18,943 points for the club and set its assists record with 6,829.

France national team

With the senior France team, Parker won bronze at EuroBasket 2005 and silver at EuroBasket 2011. France won EuroBasket gold in 2013, and Parker was the tournament’s top scorer and MVP. Another bronze followed at EuroBasket 2015. At the 2012 London Olympics, France finished second in its group behind the United States and lost 66-59 to Spain in the quarterfinals. Parker averaged 15.7 points in that tournament. His last tournament with France was the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they again went out in the quarterfinals. He announced his international retirement after that defeat.

ASVEL, Charlotte and retirement

In 2009 Parker bought a 20 percent stake in ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne. During the 2011 NBA lockout he played for the French club. He appeared in 7 Pro A games, averaging 20.3 points, and scored 34 points in one EuroCup game before leaving in November 2011. He became ASVEL’s majority shareholder and president in 2014, and in 2017 he also took over as president of the women’s team. In July 2018 he ended his time in San Antonio, signing a two-year deal with the Charlotte Hornets. He averaged 9.5 points in 2018-19 and played his last game on March 17, 2019. He announced his retirement on June 10, 2019. Over his NBA career he played 1,254 games and scored 19,473 points. The Spurs retired his No. 9 jersey on November 11, 2019, and on August 13, 2023, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.