William Anthony "Tony" Parker

William Anthony "Tony" Parker (born May 17, 1982) is a French professional basketball player who currently plays for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and France's national team. The son of a professional basketball player, Parker played for two years in the French basketball league before entering the 2001 NBA Draft.

He was selected by the San Antonio Spurs and quickly became their starting point guard, helping the Spurs win three NBA Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Employing his pace and high field goal percentage to great effect, Parker has been selected as an NBA All-Star three times and was the 2007 NBA Finals MVP. He married actress Eva Longoria, best known for her role in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, on 7 July 2007.
Parker was born in Bruges, Belgium, but raised in France.His father, Tony Parker Sr., an African-American, played basketball at Loyola University Chicago, as well as professionally overseas. His mother, Pamela Firestone, is a Dutch model.Parker enjoyed close relationships with his brothers and they would often attend their father's basketball games together. At first, Parker was more interested in soccer, but after watching the evolution of Michael Jordan into a global basketball superstar, he changed his mind.

Moreover, Parker's two younger brothers were also heavily involved in basketball; T.J. and Pierre would go on to play basketball at professional and college levels respectively.In the summer of 2000, Parker was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit in Indianapolis. There, in front of professional scouts and college coaches, he competed against the likes of future NBA players Darius Miles, Zach Randolph and Omar Cook. In a contest between the American and European All-Stars, Parker recorded 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. The Frenchman's performance prompted a recruiting war between several colleges, including UCLA and Georgia Tech who were on the verge of persuading Parker to join them. However, Parker decided to forgo the NCAA and remain in France; he spent the next two years with Racing in the French championship before entering the 2001 NBA Draft. Prior to the 2001 NBA Draft, Parker was invited to the San Antonio Spurs summer camp. Parker's first experiences were daunting as coach Gregg Popovich had him play against Spurs scout and ex-NBA player Lance Blanks.

Parker was so overwhelmed by Blank's tough and physical defense that Popovich was ready to send him away after just 10 minutes. But after seeing a "best of" mix tape of Parker's best plays, Popovich decided to invite Parker a second time. This time, Parker made a better impression against Blanks; the Frenchman later described Blanks as a "one-man wrecking crew".But while Popovich decided that Parker was worth the gamble, the Spurs still had to hope that other teams would not pick Parker during the draft. As it were, Parker's name was barely mentioned in the pre-draft predictions and the point guard was drafted 28th overall by the Spurs on draft day. By his sophomore season, Parker had won his first championship ring. He played in all 82 regular season games as San Antonio's starting point guard in a team that was largely revamped from previous years. He improved his regular season statistics significantly, averaging 15.5 points per game (ppg), 5.3 assists per game (apg) and 2.6 rebounds per game (rpg).

Parker's role as the team's playmaker was reflected in his leading the team in assists on 49 occasions.In the post season, Parker recorded two career bests in scoring as the Spurs, led by Tim Duncan, defeated the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the finals, and Parker earned his first NBA championship ring. Despite the victory, Parker struggled with inconsistent play throughout the playoffs, and was often substituted for the more experienced guards Steve Kerr and Speedy Claxton late in the games.Throughout the season, Parker also felt that he was often criticized too harshly by coach Popovich; in retrospect, coach Popovich admitted he was critical of his young playmaker, stating he wanted Parker to build a thick skin and mature sooner than his peers. During the 2004–05 season, Parker recorded improved regular season statistics, securing career-highs of 16.6 ppg, 6.1 apg and 3.7 rpg.

He was also ranked 13th in the league in total assists, and was third among point guards in field goal percentage.The Spurs were strong in the playoffs, and Parker was instrumental in the victories over the Denver Nuggets, Seattle Supersonics and Phoenix Suns.[10] However, the Frenchman struggled in the Finals series against the Detroit Pistons. Spurs colleagues Manu Ginóbili and Brent Barry often took over playmaking duties as Parker was unable to perform as well as he did in the regular season. Pitted against ex-Finals MVP and

All-Defensive Team member Chauncey Billups, Parker's jump shot became inconsistent, and his trademark drives to the hoop were often smothered by the defensively strong Pistons frontcourt anchored by four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace. Nevertheless, with the combination of Tim Duncan's consistent performances, the emergence of Argentine star Ginobili and Parker operating as playmaker, the Spurs won their third ever NBA championship by defeating the defending champions 4–3 in the 2005 NBA Finals.

Parker was selected for the first time in his career an NBA All-Star for the 2005–06 season as he managed a regular season career-high 18.9 ppg and a solid .548 in field goal percentage. Parker's scoring average was even higher than Duncan's, and his form propelled the Spurs to a 63–19 win-loss record and qualification for the 2006 NBA Playoffs. However, the top-seeded Spurs were again unable to win back-to-back titles as they were eliminated in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks.

On 14 February 2007, after delivering consistent numbers in the first half of the 2006–07 season, Parker was selected to play in the 2007 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve guard. With Parker operating as the starting point guard in the 2006–07 season, the Spurs qualified for the 2007 NBA Playoffs and finished second in the Southwest Division. In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Spurs met the Phoenix Suns led by two-time and reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash. In the match-up versus the best point guard of his generation, Parker used his speed to score an easy layup, or hit with his improved mid-range jump shot.

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni even used All-Defensive Team forward Shawn Marion to cover Parker, but the Frenchman used the pick and roll to beat his much bigger counterpart. After eliminating the Suns, the Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 4–1 to win the Western Conference Finals. Parker and the Spurs went on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers and swept them 4–0 to win the 2007 NBA Finals. In this series, Parker consistently outplayed his Cavaliers counterparts Daniel Gibson and All-Defensive Team member Larry Hughes and scored a series-high 24.5 points, accompanied by a high field goal percentage of 56.8% and of 57.1% from three point range. For his performances, he was named the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, becoming the first European-born player to receive the award.