A little over a week ago Tony Parker announced his retirement from the NBA. He may have played his last season with the Charlotte Hornets, but he never stopped being a Spur. Even though I would have never said that Tony was my favorite player, I’ve taken the news of his retirement pretty hard. Though the Big 3 chapter of the Spurs may have been closed for some time, it has never felt so real or final as it does now. To honor his career I have spent this past week watching highlight videos, delving the depths of Basketball Reference, and just reminiscing about my favorite moments.
When I was a kid I exclusively shot off the backboard because I wanted to be Tim Duncan. In college I euro stepped my way through intramural and pickup games in the styling of Manu Ginobili. But if you were to ask me to pick my favorite, most clear basketball memories of the past 15 years, they would all be of Tony Parker.
Tony Parker – the only man in NBA history to never land on his feet after attempting a layup. He couldn’t play transition defense because he was too busy sliding into a cameraman after every shot at the basket, even when there wasn’t any contact. The man was a legend. That’s the thing that made him so special to me and so fun to watch. He was lightning fast and too quick to stay on his feet. His ability to drive and spin between two defenders and get the shot up before they even turned around was remarkable. The other team was always in trouble when he came off of a screen with the ball in his hands. If it was a race to the basket he’d usually win, if not he’d hit you with possibly the deadliest floater in NBA history. All of the hours practicing his jump shot began to pay off as his age was about the only thing that could catch him. He never became a serious threat from outside the arc, but if he took one dribble in it was about as reliable as a long 2 could be.
None of his spin moves, floaters, or deep middies could hold a candle to my favorite Tony Parker memory, however. I’m talking about the best time he fell onto the floor. It was game 1 of the 2013 finals against Lebron and the Heat. I was back home for the Summer watching the game with my dad. There was 14 seconds left in the 4th quarter and 6 seconds on the shot clock with Tony dribbling outside the 3 point line, and I had to pee. He drives into Bosh’s chest and tries to slip by him running straight into Lebron who was ready to help. Tony lost his footing and almost lost the ball with both Lebron and Wade taking swipes at it. He managed to get back to his feet without traveling, got Lebron up in the air, went under him for a shot from 16 ft that somehow went in putting the Spurs up 4 with 6 seconds left, sealing the game.
At the end of the day that’s who he is. A winner. He is retiring having won 71% of his regular season games and 60% of his playoff games over the course of his whole career. I don’t believe his legacy ends here. A big reason why he left the Spurs last year was because he has passed the torch to the next point guard. In the 17-18 season, Tony stepped down from the starting role so that Dejounte Murray could run the show. Murray is a young, quick guard that has struggled with a jump shot early in his career. They are different physical specimens, but their stories are playing out in a similar fashion. Becoming the starting point guard at such a young age was an important part of Tony’s development, and hopefully it’s an important part of Murray’s. With Tony moving back to San Antonio soon for his new job with NorthRock Partners, hopefully he’ll be able to resume his mentor-ship of the young man. Maybe one day Dejounte will be an All-Star, a winner, a champion, just like Tony.
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