Tony Parker Biography  | |
Tony Parker biography
Conscientiously, Tony Parker maintains records. He turns the pages of this big red binder and comments on the statistics, photos, and articles which follow his young career. He makes one thing clear: basketball is a destiny that he could never escape. Before the printing presses displays itself, eulogistically, one reflects on this first cliché. A little gentleman dressed in grey and red underwear holds himself up, a basketball in his hand. "He was 18 months old. Isn’t he cute?" This remark shows Pamela’s pride and her motherly tenderness. The instantaneousness of the remark recalls the paternal lineage.
The philistines ignore the fact, but no amateur basketball player can forget: William Tony Parker has the same name as his father (and his grandfather). He carries that name while following the career path of his father. Originally from Chicago, Tony Parker Senior was an excellent defensive player who could have evolved with the Bulls. Having created a reputation on the other side of the Atlantic he went on to win the Championship in the Netherlands and Belgium, before finishing his career in France. He won the Coupe de France ("France National Championship") in 1984. He went on to be a commentator for the NBA on France 3.
Little Tony, as well as his two younger brothers, Terence and Pierre, naturally caught the basketball bug at a young age. After their parents divorce the boys went to live with their father and attended all of his games. Today the eldest of the three brothers is considered one of France’s most prodigious junior players while Terence (16 years old) played for the PS-G last season, and Pierre is one of the up and coming stars for the team in Rouen. It was with Rouen that all three brothers learned the tricks of the trade.
A Family Thing
If you are lucky enough to have the chance to pass some time in the Parker’s big apartment in Boulogne-Billancourt, you run the risk of running into a couple of members of the family. From them you learn very quickly that the Parker family splits itself up between two worlds: basketball and high fashion. Dutch-American, Pamela was still a renowned model (now she is a naturopath) when she met William Tony Parker in Amsterdam. He would be father to her three sons. That particular day she looked, with the critical eye of a professional, at the portfolio of her niece Amélie, daughter to Anne-Marie and Jean-Pierre Saelens.
This name, of course, immediately brings us back to basketball. One can only imagine the influence that the later had on his godson Tony. Jean-Pierre Staelens remains the man of 100 selections, he still holds the mythical record (71 points scored in one game while playing for Denain against Valenciennes in 1967). It was Staelens who was the first to discover Tony Parker Senior in the United States, in 1978, he would later become Junior’s agent. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack on New Years Eve 1999. Nonetheless, he remains ever present in the Parker family.
Chance would have it: Tony Parker Junior was born in Bruges, Belgium. That would be the cause of a recent error made by an American announcer who introduce Tony Parker Junior as Belgian.
"When we were little, we moved all the time" explains Tony. "We followed our father." Thanks to different contracts the Parker clan made stops in Gravelines, Denain, Fécamp...et Rouen. It was in Rouen were the boys planted themselves and it was in Rouen were the all made there debut in basketball.
However, it was in soccer where Tony started. "I played front-centre, I loved scoring goals" he tells us. In the end, however, it was watching the evolution of Michael Jordan which helped him to decide that basketball was his sport. "In 1996, I was on vacation with my family in Chicago" Tony tells us. "My uncle got me, my brothers, and my cousin in to see the Bulls practice. We spoke with Scottie Pippen and we even took a picture with Jordan!" This magical moment was immortalized and the picture is framed in his room. The "good-luck" wishes from the "Master" remained engraved in Tony’s memory. That being said, it is, however, his father who comes up as soon as the conversation turns to who his role model is. "I want to follow in my fathers footsteps, but do it better" he says. Don’t think for a second that these are the words of an oversized ego. It isn’t the Parker family style. Tony Parker realizes his talent. He is conscious of his ability and his prodigious progression as a player. "I have speed and agility" he admits. "I do everything faster than the others, I learn fast. I always played in the older division, never with guys my age. That is how a player gets better. All of the sudden, I exploded, but at a very young age." On the other hand, he took his time in growing vertically. Before his late growth spurt (at 15) brought him to 1,86m, his little side had already decided his position on the court. "I am a point guard, a key position because you are responsible for everything. Winning or losing depends on how you perform. It is you that calls the formations and the plays, it’s you that speeds up or slows down, you always have the ball in your hands." This is a responsibility that he handles perfectly. "I love being under pressure. Even the pressure put on me by the media. That is how you outdo yourself."
From INSEP to PSG
Chosen MVP of the "Salbris Junior Tournament" (Tournoi minims de Salbris) (1997), Tony was discovered by Lucien Legrand. The coach of the "cadets" (an age group division) and the national centre the INSEP took advantage of the spotting and asked the little guy to join the INSEP. "I was in contact a number of different clubs and I had even already chosen to go to play for Cholet. After I visited the INSEP, I changed my mind."
Fourth in Europe with the Cadets 81, (Tony Parker was actually born in 82’), Tony reaffirmed his ability to be a major factor on the court. He excels in penetrating and showed strength at the boards. At the end of his first year with the INSEP he averaged 15 pts a game. Tony Parker was just 16 years old but he wasn’t intimidated by the older players on the Nationale 2. The INSEP team had its best season that year. The next year was a little more disappointing in Nationale 1, but Parker, nonetheless managed to keep up his game. "In N2, some games bored us" he admits. "In N1, the competition is a little harder, physically that is." My competitors give me a hard time because I am young and an easy target. The push me, and treat me like a little snotty kid, but, well..." Humbled despite his ambitions, T.P. (his nickname), pushes on with out faltering. He knows that it is an obligatory right of passage. Besides, during all of this, Tony signed with Paris Saint-Germain and the Pro A.
Once again Tony Parker had to get used to a whole new life. Having finished his studentship with the INSEP, T.P: moved into the apartment in Boulogne-Billancourt, which he shares with his mother and Terrence. He juggles his responsibilities at school, his finales (STT in Economics), and his two practices a day with Paris Saint-Germain, where he is learning the art of patience. "It is not easy to become famous playing back-up to a point guard like Laurent Sciarra. He plays almost all the time, and even just had one of his best seasons." There is no jealousy, however, in Tony Parker’s voice. He knows that it was just a transitional year. "I learned so much about the professional world of basketball by watching how one directs the team." He proved that at the prestigious Nike Hoop Summit.
The American Dream
"For all basketball players, the real dream is to play in the NBA. It is in the NBA that the best players play. In France, if you talk to little boys, they know all of the NBA players and not one single Pro A player. And, even though, it is not the most important thing, you have to realize that in the NBA the lowest paid player still makes more than the highest paid player in France. And without the taxes..." If you ask Tony Parker about the United States he will take off and never stop.
For him, the NBA, is the ultimate goal, the only one which motivates his career. It seems, that that dream should be coming true and pretty quickly,. This year he was chosen to got to the Nike Hoop Summit, a selection of the best junior world players against the best junior American players. He caught the eye of many recruiters with his performance on the court and by his statistics. Since them he has been courted by every American University. All of them want him to come and play in the NCAA. "It is my dad who deals with the contracts. In the United States they are very isolationist. But when they go through my dad they remember one thing pretty quickly, I am half American. Even my name works in my favour: Tony Parker, it isn’t a French name. On the other hand, if you take Rigaudeau, he is a very strong player, one of the best Europeans, but he won’t go the United States because for the Americans, those who aren’t from their country don’t know how to play."
Conscience of the rules on the political side of things, Tony Parker seems to be progressing just fine. He is not afraid of leaving and being abducted in the American mentality. "At home, my dad speaks to me in English, I respond in French, but with PS-G, I was the translator for the Americans." he tells us. Besides, at the end of last season Tony had his choice: having finished his baccalaureate (French High School Diploma), in his pocket, in September he will leave for Georgia Tech to play two seasons before entering the NBA draft.
Negotiations
This vision of the future would never materialize. As Tony Parker had imagined he would have stayed on to play another year for PS-G. " Charles Bietry had promised me that I would be the starting point guard and that the team would be focused around me and Cyril Julien," he explained. This was all before Louis Nicollin, the president of the Montpellier football team, took over the Paris team and decided to keep Didier Dobbels, the current coach, and Laurent Sciarra. The last minute change in plans also changed T.P.’s plans. An American coach, Ron Steward, was taking over the PBR for the 2000-2001 season. "I know him well," says Tony happily, "He told me that he would have me come play for the PBR and he made me a very interesting offer." Laurent Sciarra left Paris for ASVEL during which time T.P. added another item to his list of accomplishments. With the Junior French team, in Zadar (Croatia), he was named MVP of the European Championship while leading the French team to the title of European Champions. This was something accomplished only once before by the French team and that was in 1992.
From Dream to Reality
At the head of a team made up of young players (Diarra, Sylla, Rupert), Tony was threatening to take the PBR to the championship. Very quickly this talent packed team showed its limits. The "Metropolitains" fluctuated between good and not so good. The finished in 8th place at the end of the regular season: the worst they could finish and still qualify for the playoffs. Against the toughest team in the playoffs, ASVEL, Paris "exploded" over the course of two games. "Villeurbanne showed us that they were better than us. Frankly, when they play the way that they played I don’t know who could beat them. The were consistent throughout the two games and there is really nothing to say. We were outplayed, they were more in a rhythm and there you have it. There was a 30 point difference over two games. As for me, I am exhausted. I don’t know why I am really beat. These few days of vacation are well timed because it has been a long season." For T.P., the most important thing was still to come. The French basketball prodigy decided to enter the NBA draft in 2001 and to hopefully live out his dream of playing in the NBA for the next season. After some dream work-outs T.P. heard his name called out as the 28th draft pick. He would be going to San Antonio and to play for the Spurs the 1999 NBA champions. "It is the team that I wanted to go to. It is one of the top three teams in the NBA and they have some of the best players, Tim Duncan and David Robinson. It is going to be so amazing. Playing with them is going to be a big change from the French Championship. Playing with them is going to make the game so much easier."
Source: TonyParker.net
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