Tony Parker says “Goodbye” to the game
Today was the day that Tony decided he will hang up his basketball shoes at age 37, after 18 seasons of nice assists and clutch baskets. It is a sad day for the NBA and the Spurs fans, as the last member of that legendary trio formed of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili is retiring as well. Times change while it flies by faster than we expect, just like an ice cube melting down in a whiskey jar, and with him goes many great memories which Parker left behind during his incredible basketball career.
?? It’s with a lot of emotion that I retire from basketball, it was an incredible journey! Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would live all those unbelievable moments with the NBA and the French National Team.
Thank you for everything! https://t.co/YKqTlnkG90— Tony Parker (@tonyparker) June 10, 2019
From starting in the French League in 1999 to winning 4 NBA Championships, Tony Parker has come a long way, and despite all of the adversities that he fought on during his pre-draft workouts, he is leaving the game now as a true Hall of Famer and a legend of the game. He came in the league as the 28th overall draft pick in 2001 and since then he was a 6 time All-Star, 4x All-NBA, 4 time NBA Champion and the Finals MVP in 2006-07. That’s a pretty darn nice resume for a player that was drafted with the 28th pick. Tony Parker averages 15,5 PPG, 2,7 RPG and 5,6 APG on 49,1% field-goal-percentage for his career. His best season from a statistical point of view was the 2008-09 season, when he had 22 PPG and 7 APG, on 50% FG%. Even though the Spurs didn’t manage to win the championship that year, he was selected as an All-Star for the third-time in his career at that moment. Throughout his career he had a lot of stellar plays, such as the on from Game 1 of the 2013 Finals against the Miami Heat, when he stole the win in the South Beach with that bank shot over LeBron, or that night in Minnesota in 2008 when he set his career high, scoring 55 points.
Parker was not only that he was a very good player on his position, but he was an even better human being off-the-court, as he never took anything from granted, being as humble as you can think of. In his last season spent in Charlotte, he got in the 17th place on the all-time assist leaders list. “A lot of different stuff ultimately led me to this decision,” Parker said. “But, at the end of the day, I was like if, I can’t be a Tony Parker anymore and I can’t play for a championship, I don’t want to play basketball anymore.” He told to The Undefeated that his longtime friends Duncan and Ginobili were the first ones that got the news; “They were like, ‘Are you sure?,'” Parker said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m sure.’ And so, they’re like, ‘If you’re sure, man, I’m so happy for you. I’m so happy for you. We had a great run and can’t wait to beat you up on tennis and spending more time together…
“We’re always going to be remembered together. But it was great to share that moment with them. It’s crazy. We came from three different backgrounds and came together.”
Here you have some of the best career defining moments of Tony Parker. The game and the fans will definitely miss him.
