Welcome to the B-Ball Brunch. Enjoy reading about my NBA musings about last night during your brunch hours.
Four-time NBA champion Tony Parker’s number is up on the rafters.
(PHOTO CREDIT: NBA.)
As the San Antonio Spurs do, Tony Parker isn’t a name a lot of people evoke when it comes to the stars in the game. He is, however, one of the more decorated players in league history. It obviously helps to be part of a nearly-unstoppable trio (and THIS trio probably doesn’t get as many headlines as other “big threes”) but if he never did his part then he wouldn’t be considered part of that trio, correct?
Parker was a late first round pick by the Spurs. There were so many stories about how coach Gregg Popovich ran him hard. He ended up becoming a starter in his rookie season. Then he was the starting one when the Spurs won the 2003 NBA championship. Parker notably struggled and his name was being batted around for a potential Jason Kidd trade (ironically, the Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets in that championship round). The Spurs ended up keeping him and as the years went by, Parker blossomed into an all-star. He became the master of the floater and his outside shot improved. In the 2007 NBA Finals, the Spurs won their third championship in five years and Parker became the first European-born player to win the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award.
The Spurs were formidable throughout Parker’s career. He was the catalyst of those teams that were an annual threat to the NBA title. But as terrifying as they were, they didn’t make the NBA Finals again. Until 2013. With Kawhi Leonard on the team, the Spurs returned to the championship round only for the Spurs to fall short (the Ray Allen three in Game 6 is one of the most clutch shots in NBA history). They returned the next year with redemption on their minds and Parker and the Spurs got revenge in the 2014 NBA Finals. That would be that trio’s fourth and final championship.
Parker continued to be an excellent player in the twilight of his career. After Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili retired, Parker had one last season in 2018-19. He went to the Charlotte Hornets and played well as a back-up. After that season, though, he felt he was done and retired from the NBA.
He wasn’t supposed to be there. Parker was an afterthought to many teams. The Spurs gave him a shot and Parker capitalized on it. Again, Popovich rode him hard and in the end, it worked. He was an international star when the NBA was shy about giving foreign-born players a chance. He made the all-star team six times, was all-NBA four times (2nd team three times and 3rd team once), and was the 2007 NBA Finals MVP. It definitely helped to be around players like Duncan and Ginobili but not everyone succeeds in that environment, either. No spotlight was too big for Parker and he came through when the lights were at its brightest. And I didn’t even talk about him leading the French team to the Eurobasket Championship.
And now his number is up in the rafters of the AT&T Center. He came into the league as a 19-year-old and we watched him grow as a player and a man. A lot of my friends who rooted for either L.A. team hated what he did to their favorite team but respected him so much because he was so damn good. Parker was always supposedly the one star most likely to leave during the Spurs’ title years but he stayed because he knew he had a good thing with Tim and Manu. He did eventually leave for that one last season in Charlotte but at that point, both of those stars had retired.
Now Parker will be remembered as one of the San Antonio Spurs greats. Not bad for a kid for a late first round pick from France that hardly anyone even thought about initially.
If you want to watch the entire retirement ceremony, here it is:
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
Bullet Passes
Draymond Green returned to the Warriors on Monday night against the Utah Jazz. And… he was ejected with two technical fouls in the fourth quarter. Welcome back!
Blake Griffin was also back. In his first game of the season, Griffin played 24 minutes and ended with 19-7-6. Too bad, the Pistons fell short against the Wolves.
The Celtics got the news that Gordon Hayward will be out for about six weeks (more on this in a separate entry). With that said, they had enough artillery to defeat the Mavericks. And by artillery, I mean 8 threes from Kemba Walker.
Maybe they’ll be just fine?
OG Anunoby left the game after getting poked in the eye by former teammate Kawhi Leonard. It was the first time Leonard faced his old Raptors team since he left. It was NOT a pretty game but the Clippers won.
On the other side, I really worry about the amount of minutes both Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are playing. But oh, right. The greatest of all-time said that NBA players get paid to play 82 games with their limbs cut off and bleeding from their heads.
I guess we’re not fazed anymore with the way James Harden is scoring the ball. The guy averaged 36.1 points last season and has upped it to 37.3 points so far this year. I mean, we marvel about the way Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (yeah, yeah, I know) put in points. Nothing about Harden?
Oh, yeah. Ban injuries.
Watch This Play
Karl-Anthony Towns. TAKE IT FROM THE TOP.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Chris Smoove.)
That’s just insane that a guy that big can move with grace and force.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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