Spurs No. 9 Tony Parker, Hall of Fame: What is left after everything is gone

Tony Parker, 2023 Hall of Fame.

In terms of coffee position, he seems to be inferior to his classmates Wade, Dirk and Gasol.

But if you list one...

2007 Finals MVP.

The 2013 Western Conference champion team's regular season and playoff scoring + assist king.

The regular season and playoff scoring champion + assist king of the 2014 championship team (although he is not the Finals MVP, but the 2014 Finals Spurs scoring and assist king).

Six-time All-Star.

Sixth in all-time playoff appearances.

Eleventh in all-time playoff totals – Curry 12th and Wade 13th.

11th in total field goal shooting in the all-time playoffs - 12th in Big Dream.

When these records are laid out, people will sigh:

"What a legend!"

But when it comes to Tony Parker, it probably makes people — especially Spurs fans — think:

"Really? So many historical records, from the sweet smiling little Parker we know? ”

Probably because we are used to Duncan's calm and seriousness, to Ginobili's eagerness and enchantment, to Parker's baby-like feeling even when he is serious—we don't think he's a historical legend.

Outside of the Spurs, few people pay attention:

Although he won the Finals MVP and three championships at the age of 25, Parker's career peaked when he was 30 years old.

He reached three league second-teams between the ages of 30 and 32, with the MVP votes fifth, sixth, and twelfth, and it's true that he's a late bloomer like Nash (certainly not as good as Nash).

The 2013 Western Conference semifinals Spurs vs Warriors now seem to be Curry + Clay playoff fame, but only in the summer of 2013, Parker's position may be bigger than Curry: after all, he was a second-team guard in the league at that time!

Doesn't that sound magical?

Despite playing to the second team three times, Parker probably never became the preeminent point guard in people's minds. From the beginning of the industry, he played against Kidd, Billups, Nash, Paul, DeLong, Westless, Lillard, Curry. It seems that everyone is bigger than him.

But looking back, you'll see: Parker still had four rings.

From Kidd:

To Curry:

This is across several eras.

Autumn 2008. The Spurs' injury wave crippled the roster, so he scored 133 points in four games in the opening season and 55 in Minnesota. In the spring of 2009, he dragged the Spurs through the mudniest injury swamp with 37, 39, and 42 points. Of course, who remembers — not even Spurs fans — that Parker had 42 points and 10 assists at home in Atlanta on March 25, 2009.

Then, back in the system, he went on to play Spurs-style basketball for a decade as his French sports car.

He's certainly not perfect, but conversely, would Kidd, Wall or Lillard really fit into the Spurs system than Parker? We'll never know.

He collided with Dirk more often in the NBA. But at FIBA, especially in Europe, he was once Gasol's rival.

At the 2007 European Championships, Parker scored second only to Dirk and ahead of Turkoglu, Gasol and AK47. At the 2009 European Championships, he still scored second in points, behind Gasol. At the 2011 European Championship he was the scoring champion and best team, leading France to the final and defeating Spain.

At the 2013 European Championships, Parker led France to victory, and he was the scoring champion and MVP.

It was the most glorious moment in the history of French basketball.

It was also the only European champion between 2009 and 2015 that did not belong to Spain (the Gasol brothers).

Of course, to most NBA fans, that doesn't seem like a big deal: After all, European champions are niche and not as pleasing to the 2004 Ginobili Olympic champion.

He is a king being who changed the landscape of European basketball. But for a long time in San Antonio, he glared at his big eyes, let Duncan touch his head, let Popovich lecture, and smiled quite sweetly. There are many off-court things that make people feel that he is immature, but unconsciously look back... A bunch of historical achievements have been accumulated.

There seem to be many better options than him, but in the end, only he contributed so much to the Spurs — and apart from what John Stockton did for the Jazz, there should be no playmaker guard who has done more and longer for any single team in NBA history.

Probably like Duncan and Ginobili, because it lasted so long and so steadily that we took everything for granted.

It wasn't until he retired and looked back that he realized:

Putting aside someone else's home, this is a true legend; Spurs themselves, well, it seems, is a bunch of problems in his own family, but after looking at it for a long time, getting used to it, suddenly leaving to find that there is no one to replace ...

Steve Nash has said that he is not so much fast as agile and balanced – and that's where his agility lies.

As his old rival, Parker can also describe it that way.

Parker had a lot of faults: average defense, only a long-range shot from the bottom corner in his later years, never a master of the organization, and so on. 

In 2000, when Manager Boford gave Popovich a video to see the child "born in Belgium and raised in France," Popovich said:

"Belgium? Am I going to eat waffles? "- "Everyone knows, don't look for a guard in Europe!" They're not fast enough and they're not used to the NBA! If you give me a shooter with vie at the end of the name, or Dirk's German neighbor, I'll watch! ”

Before Parker's arrival, the Spurs were not a team that everyone liked to watch. The inside line is the twin towers, and the outside line is the old shooter such as Little General, Eli, and Daniels. Fight slowly, fight stuffy, like black iron. Parker is a bright silver on this black iron: he can make mistakes, miss teammates, can't shoot threes, but he can run and make light layups.

In the first two years of his career, Parker was often scolded by Popovich: no wonder, after all, the Spurs backcourt at that time were all old men in the crowd, and he was the only one under 20. Parker, meanwhile, remains studious. He was not afraid of the old man's chasing, and often ran back to ask the coach:

"Did I do something wrong again?"

At that time, he was not very good at shooting and made average free throws.

Then, in second grade, he found his little projectile. He became a championship guard that year and was the second scorer of the 2003 championship team.

In 2002, Terry Porter said Parker was "good at blocking, knowing when to push the tempo and when to slow down, knowing how to lift the twin towers." When this kid was in France, he must have watched a lot of NBA. ”

David Robinson says he's "not nervous at all, just playing." Last such a newcomer? Duncan. ”

In the fifth grade, he was 24 years old and averaged 19 points and six assists per game to become the Spurs' leading scorer in the regular season, shooting a terrifying 55 percent. Since this year, his mid-range has almost lost its dead end. Here's how Coach Chip England taught him to shoot:

"I found his projectile feel unbeatable, so I tried to teach him to use the throwing technique to get it – just a little bit of a change in posture."

In 2006, 2009, 2011-14, he was the Spurs' scoring leader.

2006, 2012 and 2014 were the second, third and fourth seasons in Spurs history, and the seventh in 2011.

That is, four of the Spurs' all-time top seven seasons in terms of winning percentage, Parker was the team's scoring leader.

Parker's interior presence is not as good as Duncan's and his passing instigation is not as good as Ginobili, but he was the Spurs' best ball-carrying singler in 2008-14. His balanced breakouts with his left and right hands, his all-time top-notch steps around cover, his turns and counterattacks, his mid-range shots around cover. In 2010-14, he was still evolving: dribbling, ground passing, layups, mid-range shots, long passes.

And, not everyone remembers: In Game 1 of the 2013 Finals, he scored the winning goal for the Spurs.

He doesn't make any three-pointers, but he never tries something he's not good at. He doesn't go on his back and doesn't shoot threes. He also basically does not play forced overtaking, does not go to the straight line to force the attack. He doesn't race with people.

Tony Parker is alert. When he singles out with the ball, he always attacks on the opponent's front foot. He will not break through along the path given by his opponent, but will always force his opponent to turn around. He will straighten up and make a quick stop to see where his opponent is standing, and then an in-out, or a change of direction, not much, but smooth and fast. He can turn his hands, eyes and knees in different directions in one jump, just like the front wheel of a bicycle turning. He is not the fastest, but when the center of gravity is low, he can maintain a strange balance: the control of the core strength of the waist and abdomen, which guarantees his coordination.

Other cars may have to fly dust and drift forcibly, and he is a dozen dragon turns.

Parker (and Ginobili), on the other hand, can both look for space. Ginobili is using his huge stride, and Parker is using small changes of direction and sudden stops. If Ginobili is the kind that often rides his bike and scrapes his head down, Parker is the one who swings sideways. Ginobili pursues "a position above you to hang you to shoot", Parker is "going around you and going to the other side for a layup". Ginobili is good at European steps, changing direction drastically, penduluming over people, but Parker is fickle and changeable: jumping, striding and turning.

Of course, his playmaking power is not as destructive as Wilson, Harden and Wall, but he is also not as much ball-carrying as these guys. He rarely steps on the accelerator. He kept riding his bike through the crowds and played more than 1,200 regular-season games.

Of the players of his size, the only ones who played more than him were John Stockton, Mark Jackson and Chairman Fish.

Looking long, Parker's years at the Spurs from 2001-2018...

NBA singles and two-point shots: LeBron 44,000 minutes 12,522 points, Kobe Bryant 38,000 minutes 10,456 points.

The third is Tony Parker, 10,306 points in 37,000 minutes, followed by Wade with 10,202 points.

In the past eighteen years, only four people in the NBA have scored more than 10,000 points alone, and Parker can be listed with LeBron, Kobe and Wade.

In the same period of playoff points, Parker was fourth, in front of LeBron, Kobe and Duncan. Here comes the most fun:

He was the third largest in basketball scoring in the same period, behind LeBron and Duncan.

He was the second man to shoot in the same period, behind Bryant - a playoff long shot, Bryant shot 41% and Parker 40%. Hamilton we are all familiar with, 38%.

Yes, a 188 cm French small guard, not a wide field of vision, not very strong organization, not yet three-pointers, is based on the ball to score - sudden basket, emergency stop shot - stand down and get four rings.

Although at the peak of his career in 2011-14, few people point out:

"Hey, he's a 60-win team scoring + assist king!"

He doesn't steal the limelight.

Parker became the team's scoring champion and All-Star in 2006 and became the Finals MVP in 2007 before still minding becoming the team's third-highest attacker two years later (behind Ginobili the sixth). His salary that year he won the Finals MVP was 9.45 million. The highest annual salary was $15.45 million in the Spurs' final year — his junior Conley was $28.53 million that year. He had many flaws, but those flaws didn't stop him from winning four championships for the Spurs.

After leaving the Spurs, he told Mark Spears: At the beginning of every season in his 17 years at the Spurs, he thought the Spurs had a chance to win the championship. So he went to the Hornets, and although the treatment was good, "it felt very strange, I played basketball every day to win." In the French national team, we fought for the gold medal; At the Spurs, it's about winning the championship. If you can't fight for the championship, then why play? ”

He has many flaws, but he really just wants to win.

So Popovich put him at the Spurs and played for so long.

Aside from what John Stockton did for the Jazz, no playmaker has done more or longer for any single team in NBA history.

A little last bit.

Parker, Dirk and Gasol were inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, and coincidentally:

The top three total points in the history of the European Championship, Gasol, Parker and Dirk.

Foreign players can rely on height and skill to gain a foothold in the NBA: we have Yao Ming, Dazhi, Bartel, Yi Jianlian, Zhou Qi... Spain has two Gasols, Germany has Dirk, France has Gobert and Venbanyamas.

But how difficult is it in the NBA for foreign guards without a height advantage? Consider how difficult it is for Navarro, Jascocius, Spannolis, Rubio, Arroyo.

There are four European Finals MVPs in NBA history: Parker, Dirk, Giannis and Jokic. Parker was the first and only playmaker.

Since Parker won the Finals MVP in 2007, only one No. 1 has won the Finals MVP: Curry in 2022.

Foreign player, playmaker, four-time championship ring, 2007 Finals MVP.

The only foreign playmaker in history to be the MVP of the Finals.

Tony Parker.

Although he always smiled lightly, he crossed a long era and overcame many unimaginable obstacles.

A true legend.

At last......

Coach Popovich, at the 2023 Hall of Fame ceremony, jokingly talked about the Spurs' Hall of Famer players.

The admiral was obedient and did not mention it.

Say Parker: "I demand perfection from him and am strict with him; Now, if I do this to him, I will be arrested."

Duncan, "I wish he would occasionally nod at me to show that I heard what I was saying, which made me feel a little satisfied."

"Manu came up to me and said, 'I'm Manu, that's how I play!'" So I thought I'd better shut up and let him run freely!" ”

After the joke, Popovich said:

All the ups and downs (a few of them together, four-figure matches, four championships, more than a decade) will pass.

Only their experiences, feelings and relationships, always there.