Tony Parker Talks 'Crazy Ride' with Spurs as No. 9 Jersey Is Retired by Team
The San Antonio Spurs raised star point guard Tony Parker's No. 9 into the rafters at the AT&T Center on Monday night.
"Thanks for all those years," Parker said (around the 15:40 mark). "It was a crazy ride for those 20 years."
He also paid tribute to, among others, coach Gregg Popovich and former teammates Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and David Robinson.
Taken with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, Parker spent the first 17 years of his career in San Antonio.
With Parker, Duncan and Ginobili, San Antonio won 47-plus games and made the postseason in each of the Frenchman's 17 seasons. The team made five trips to the NBA Finals during that span, winning four titles. Parker was named Finals MVP in 2007 as he led the Spurs to a sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The six-time All-Star played the final year of his career with the Charlotte Hornets, and he did so after putting himself among the Spurs' franchise leaders in many statistical categories. Below are just a few:
- Second in regular-season games played (1,198)
- Second in regular-season minutes played (37,276)
- Third in field goals (7,564)
- First in assists (6,829)
He averaged 15.8 points and 5.7 assists per game during his Spurs career.
"It feels great to be home," Parker told the AT&T Center crowd. "San Antonio's always going to be home for me. It's very important that you know that."
