The last member of the San Antonio Spurs’ big three has officially called it a career, hanging up his sneakers after an 18-year career.
Parker made the announcement via Twitter and linked to an interview with Marc Spears of The Undefeated regarding his decision.
🇺🇸 It’s with a lot of emotion that I retire from basketball, it was an incredible journey! Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would live all those unbelievable moments with the NBA and the French National Team.
Thank you for everything! https://t.co/YKqTlnkG90— Tony Parker (@tonyparker) June 10, 2019
Parker, originally drafted by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, became a starter in his rookie season at 19 years of age and played with the Spurs until last year when he signed a free agent contract with the Charlotte Hornets to play under former Spurs coach James Borrego.
In his final NBA season, Parker averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists in 17.9 minutes per game serving in a role as a backup point guard and a mentor to Charlotte’s younger guards, including Jeremy Lamb and Malik Monk, who along with Kemba Walker, spoke highly of Parker and his impact on the team.
Parker spent a total of 17 years with the Spurs, won four titles and was selected to six All-Star games. He was selected as 2007 NBA Finals MVP and ends his career with averages of 15.5 points, 5.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Parker told Spears that he didn’t want to have a farewell season, most importantly because it wouldn’t be done wearing a Spurs jersey.
It’s funny because my brother asked me that. ‘You don’t want to do like Dwyane and Dirk?’ And I said, ‘No, because it’s not on the Spurs jersey.’ So, for me, it’s different. Dwyane did it with the Miami jersey, Dirk was a Dallas jersey, so it was a nice way to end their careers. But for me, it was kind of different because I was in there with Charlotte, so I didn’t feel like the need of having a goodbye. For me, the goodbye will be when my jersey will be retired [in San Antonio] or I make the Hall of Fame.
Parker likely won’t have to wait long for his #9 Spurs jersey to get lifted to the rafters. The Spurs will likely look to make it happen and have the third member of the big three join his teammates next season.
