After 18 seasons in the NBA, Tony Parker is hanging up his spurs.
The longtime San Antonio point guard and four-time NBA champion will retire from pro basketball this summer, he announced Monday. Parker leaves the game with career averages of 15.5 points, 5.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game with 1,254 regular-season contests played under his belt.
A six-time All-Star, the 37-year-old was an undervalued point guard during an era when there were many premier players at the position. Coached by Gregg Popovich, Parker — along with his San Antonio Spurs teammates Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili — was part of one of the greatest trios in NBA history, a “Big Three” before such a thing was commonplace.
A Frenchman, Parker became the first European player to win Finals MVP honors when he took home the award in 2007.
“A lot of different stuff ultimately led me to this decision,” Parker told ESPN’s The Undefeated. “But, at the end of the day, I was like, if I can’t be Tony Parker anymore and I can’t play for a championship, I don’t want to play basketball anymore.”
Parker plans to live in San Antonio, but will also spend time in France where he owns a professional men’s and women’s basketball club.
Long live Parker — and his greatest accomplishment, “Balance Toi” …
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