Tony Parker is a famous person in the world of basketball. He has 18 NBA seasons and four league titles behind him. As part of the French national team, the basketball player won gold, silver and two bronze medals at the European championships.
Biography: early years
William Anthony Parker was born on May 17, 1982 in Bruges, in the northwest of Belgium. Soon, his family moved to France, where the future basketball player spent his childhood and youth. For the national team of this country, he subsequently played in international competitions.
From an early age, Tony dreamed of football. At that time, his plans did not include repeating the path of his father - a professional basketball player. Everything changed after watching a movie about the legendary Michael Jordan. The picture impressed the young Tony so much that he got carried away with basketball. Parker not only spent a lot of time on the court, but also studied the intricacies of basketball with great interest.
Tony achieved good results in the game in a short time. So, he became a key point guard on his high school team. Soon, experts from basketball organizations drew attention to Tony. He studied at the National Institute of Sports and Physical Education in Paris. Parker was soon offered a contract by the Paris Basket Racing team.
Career
In 2000, Tony traveled to Indianapolis, where he competed in the Nike Hoop. There he played along with such titled basketball players as Omar Cook, Darius Miles and Zach Randolph. Parker played with them almost on an equal footing, which attracted the attention of specialists.
The very next year, Tony was invited to the off-season training games of the NBA team "San Antonio Spurs", which is based in Texas. Parker's first game with this club was not entirely successful. The coach didn't even want Tony to finish the game. However, later he still gave him a chance, because he liked some of Tony's actions on the set.
In the same year, the team selected Parker in the first round of the NBA draft. He was declared number 28. A year later, he was included in the NBA rookie team. For a beginner basketball player, this is a great success.
Tony played for the San Antonio Spurs for 17 seasons. With this team, Parker won all of his titles in the NBA. So, he became the NBA champion four times: in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2017. In 2007, Tony was named the most valuable player in the NBA Finals.
Parker has been selected for the NBA All-Star Team many times. In 2007 and 2013 he was recognized as the best European basketball player. In 2012, Tony won the NBA basketball skill competition.
For the French national team, Tony began to play at the age of 15. So, in 1997 he played at the European championship among juniors. Then the French team was only fourth. For the first time, he won the champion title as part of the national team in 2000. Then the French became European champions. In this tournament, Tony scored 14.4 points and gave 2.5 assists per game on average. Two years later, he was already gaining 25, 8 points and gave 6, 8 assists. In 2003, Tony became the captain of the national team.
As part of the French national team, Parker has repeatedly played at the Eurobasket. So, in 2013 he was recognized as the most valuable player in this tournament. In the same year, he again became the European champion.
In an interview, Parker noted that he dreams of defending the colors of the San Antonio Spurs for 20 seasons. However, only three seasons were not enough for him to dream. In 2018, Parker joined the Charlotte Hornets. He explained his unexpected transition with a desire to try himself in something new. That's just enough for one season. In 2019, Parker announced his retirement from basketball. On his page on the social network, he noted that he did it for the sake of the family.
In parallel with his sports career, Tony tried his hand at cinema. So, in 2008 he starred in the French comedy "Asterix at the Olympic Games", in which he played the role of a basketball player.
Tony also tried his hand at business. In 2012, he and his brothers became a co-owner of a nightclub. Parker soon acquired shares in the Asvel basketball club from Lyon, France. In 2017, Tony bought another basketball club, only now for women - Lyon.
Personal life
Behind Tony's shoulders are two official marriages. In 2007, he married American actress Eva Longoria. By that time, she starred in the acclaimed TV series Desperate Housewives, which made her famous. Eva is 7 years older than Tony. The age difference did not bother the lovers, and on July 7, 2007 they got married in one of the Catholic cathedrals in Paris. After the wedding, Longoria often attended matches with Parker's participation.
The idyll ended after three years. Eve filed for divorce. She cited disagreements as the reason. However, the couple's friends claim that their marriage collapsed due to Tony's betrayal. It was rumored that Longoria had found juicy messages from other women on his phone.
On August 1, 2014, Tony married again. This time, journalist Axel Francis turned out to be his chosen one. Parker began dating her almost immediately after his divorce from Eve. In April of the same year, the couple had a son. The boy was named Josh. Only after the birth of the child did Tony make an official proposal to Axel.
In July 2016, Parker became a father for the second time. His wife bore him a son, who was named Liam.
