Learn the Incredible Story of Basketball Superstar Tony Parker!
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In Tony Parker: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest Point Guards, you'll read about the inspirational story of basketball's premier point guard, Tony Parker. Tony Parker became one of the first international players to create a lasting impact in the NBA at the point guard position. In an age filled with greats like Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Tim Duncan, Parker played in one of the most exciting eras of modern basketball. In Tony Parker’s duration as a San Antonio Spur, the Spurs have won multiple NBA championships and created a perennial contender.
While he may have been considered raw upon first entering the league, Tony Parker worked tirelessly throughout his first few seasons in the league to ensure his sustainable success in the NBA. Whenever he decides to retire, he will be remembered as one of the key pieces of the San Antonio Spurs Big Three.
Here is a preview of what is inside this book:
- Early Life and Childhood
- Career in France
- Tony Parker’s NBA Career
- Getting Drafted
- Rookie Season
- Making the RIse, First NBA Championship
- Championship Hangover
- Enter the Big Three, Second NBA Championship
- First All-Star Season
- Third Championship Season
- Years of Falling Short
- Enter Kawhi Leonard
- Return to the NBA Finals
- Fourth NBA Championship
- Another Playoff Exit After Winning the Title
- Enter LaMarcus Aldridge, Becoming Part of the Best Trio in NBA History
- International Career
- Parker’s Personal Life
- Impact on Basketball and Beyond
- Parker’s Legacy
An excerpt from the book:
While basketball today is a global sport with dozens of international players currently in the NBA, it was not like that in 2001. Basketball was a sport played almost entirely by Americans with only a handful of foreign-born players making their names known in the league.
A few foreigners had done well for themselves in the NBA. Lithuanian Arvydas Sabonis, even as a 36-year old center, had led the Portland Trail Blazers to a near victory over the eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 Playoffs. Croatian Toni Kukoč had played a key role as part of Michael Jordan’s second three-peat. And over the past 2000-01 NBA season, a German 7-footer named Dirk Nowitzki had averaged 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds. However, all three of those players were big men, and big men would always be in demand. For an international guard to succeed in the NBA was a different story. Croatian shooting guard Dražen Petrović had made the All-NBA Third Team in 1993 before he tragically perished in a car accident. During the eight years since his death, no foreign guard had come close to surpassing his legacy. The nearest at that time was Canadian point guard Steve Nash, who was steadily improving as a teammate of Nowitzki in Dallas.
No guard until now. For on June 27, 2001, the San Antonio Spurs would select a French point guard named Tony Parker with the 28th pick in the draft. Outside of his invitation to the Nike Hoop Summit in 2000, Parker had never played in the United States. He was listed at just 5’11’’ during the draft and was viewed as a “project”, a good athlete who would need time to develop into a legitimate basketball player. Would Parker be able to adjust to playing in an entirely different country? Would he be able to handle playing for the San Antonio Spurs, a championship-level team that had no time to coddle him? Would he handle the transition from playing in Paris to the middle of Texas? Was he big and athletic enough to play against the more physically taxing Americans?
