By Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Sports journalist
Drafted by San Antonio at just 19 years old, Tony Parker quickly had to find his feet in a new environment filled with unknowns for him. Recently, he returned to one of the details that made him tick when he started at Spurs.
Contrary to certain legends of the NBAhe has not worn the colors of a single team over his entire career. Despite this, Tony Parker remains logically associated with Spurswhere he still spent 17 seasons and achieved the vast majority of his exploits. Moreover, it is not uncommon to see him return to the franchise's facilities these days to provide his advice and meet familiar faces.
The striking contrast observed by Tony Parker upon his arrival at Spurs
Recently passing through San Antonio, Parker took the opportunity to pay a quick visit to Gregg Popovich's men. At the same time, he was equipped with a microphone to conduct a symbolic interview with his former rival and good friend Chris Paul, now a member of the team. The latter was then able to speak about the role of veteran that he took on there, within an extremely young workforce:
Chris Paul : I think I can change the trajectory of the team, yes. Afterwards, it's not something that you do alone but when I arrived and saw the guys, I realized that it was an excellent group. I sincerely think so. These are guys who love basketball and just need some sort of framework. Not that they didn't have any until then, but there are some things only veterans know.
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An assertion that, unsurprisingly, Parker did not refute, who benefited from the help of his most experienced teammates upon his arrival in Texas. It must be said that at only 19 years old, it was impossible for him to give up on this kind of help at the time. In his eyes, he could not have found himself in a better environment for this, he who was surrounded, according to him, by old branches:
Tony Parker : It's funny you say that because at 19, when I arrived at Spurs, there were only guys over 40 in the team! Timmy (Duncan) must have been around 26, but that was it! Apart from him, there were only old players! And today, you are the only old player in the squad with Harrison Barnes.
A contrast certainly amusing, but somewhat exacerbated by TP9.
Indeed, during his rookie season, the ex-tricolor prodigy truly evolved with veterans such as David Robinson, Terry Porter, Mark Bryant and Danny Ferry. That said, some of his teammates like Jason Hart and Stephen Jackson had also just arrived in the league. Regardless, this relatively old group allowed him to win his first title in his sophomore campaign.
Tony Parker may have exaggerated the line a little in his remarks, but he did indeed have the chance to land on a Spurs team full of NBA veterans. An ideal context to promote its integration into the league and very quickly find success there.
