Tony Parker
Teams
San Antonio Spurs - 2001-18
Charlotte Hornets - 2018-19
Playoffs
Appearances - 17 (2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018)
Conference Finals - 7 (2003,2005,2007,2008,2012,2013,2014)
NBA Finals - 5 (2003,2005,2007,2013,2014)
Championships - 4 (2003,2005,2007,2014)
Awards and Honors
Finals MVP - 1 (2007,2014)
All-NBA First Team - 0 (2013)
All-NBA Second Team - 3 (2009,2012,2013,2014)
All-NBA Third Team - 1 (2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2011,2014)
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Assists - #19
Total Points - #57
Assists Per Game - #80
League Leads
Field Goal Percentage (#3-2006)
Tony Parker was born in Belgium to a Dutch mother and an American father and raised in France, and turned pro at age 17 in the French League. After 2 years there, he entered the NBA Draft, where he was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the #28 overall pick.
Parker became the Spurs starting point guard after just 5 games in his rookie season, though it took a little while for him to become a solid player. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.3 assists as a rookie, which was enough to make the All-Rookie First Team, but definitely wasn't near star level.
Parker improved a bit in the next season, averaging 15.5 points in his second year while helping the Spurs reach the NBA Finals, where they were able to beat the New Jersey Nets in 5 games. Parker struggled in the Finals, shooting only .386 from the field, but he got a championship ring.
The Spurs were unable to acquire Jason Kidd during the offseason to take over the starting point guard slot, so Parker got to keep his job. His regular season numbers were about the same as the year before, and in the playoffs he struggled again, shooting poorly as the Spurs lost to the Lakers in the second round.
Parker improved his averages to 16.6 points and 6.1 assists the next year, and he played well in the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, averaging 18.7 and helping the Spurs reach the Finals again, but his numbers dropped off significantly in the Finals, as he scored only 13.9 per game, though the Spurs were able to overcome this to win another championship.
The next year Parker took another step forward, averaging 18.9 points and coming in #3 in the NBA with a .548 shooting percentage, a great number for a point guard. Parker finally had a good playoff run, averaging over 20 points per game in each round, but it wasn't enough for the Spurs to repeat, and they lost in the second round.
Parker finally proved that he was a star the next year. His regular season averages were just as solid as the previous year, but in the playoffs he stepped up, helping the Spurs knock off 2-time defending MVP Steve Nash and the Suns in the second round, then the Jazz in the Conference Finals, before sweeping the Cavaliers and LeBron James in the Finals, with Parker winning the Finals MVP after leading the Spurs with 24.5 points per game in the series.
Parker established himself as one of the best point guards in the league over the next several years, but the Spurs were unable to reach the NBA Finals again for several years. They lost in the Conference Finals in 2008, failing to repeat as champions for the third time in Parker's career, then failed to even get that far in the next 3 years. Parker, however, set a career high by averaging 22 points per game in 2009.
In 2012 he set a career high with 7.7 assists per game, and he was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time, but after taking a 2-0 lead in the Conference Finals, the Spurs lost 4 straight to the Thunder to fall a step short of the Finals once again.
Parker had his best individual season the next year, averaging 20.3 points and 7.6 assists, both just short of career highs, and led the Spurs all the way back to the NBA Finals, but the Spurs weren't able to overcome the Heat, falling in 7 games, the first time the Spurs had ever lost in the Finals. In a rematch the next year, however, they were able to beat Miami, winning a 4th championship for Parker, who was the team's best player throughout that playoff run, though Kawhi Leonard would win the Finals MVP after leading the team in scoring in the Finals.
At this point, Parker's production started to fall off a little, though the Spurs continued to finish near the top of the league. In 2017, Parker was injured in the second round of the playoffs, rupturing his left quad, which kept him from playing in his 8th Conference Finals. After recovering from surgery, he returned for one final season with the Spurs before signing with the Hornets for one last season, then retired in 2019.
Parker doesn't have the usual list of accomplishments of a player ranked this high, but he was an important piece of the Spurs dynasty, winning 2 championships while he was still up-and-coming, then two more when he had become a star player and team leader, which earned him that Finals MVP. He is currently #19 in all-time assists, but #5 in career playoff assists, and #9 in playoff scoring. His long and steady career, along with a large amount of playoff success, helped put him here among the other greats of the game.
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