Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Friday December 13, 2024 at 10:49 a.m.
In a long interview given to L'Equipe where he takes stock of his decade of presidency of ASVEL, Tony Parker talks about the failures of the Victor Wembanyama and Zaccharie Risacher projects, but also his relationship with his brother TJ, whom he fired from his coaching position last year.
President of ASVEL since July 2014, Tony Parker has lived a decade rich in emotions, with trophies (four league titles, two Coupes de France), failures (last in the Euroleague in 2023), controversies (wish of sales of his club shares in 2023, then renunciation)… This Friday, the former leader, aged 42, takes stock of his presidency, which he counts ensure well until 2030, in the columns of The Team. And he returns in particular to some annoying subjects. Starting with the “failure” of the Victor Wembanyama and Zaccharie Risacher projects, who were still at ASVEL a little over a year before being drafted No. 1 in the NBA, but had to look elsewhere (respectively at Boulogne-Levallois and Bourg-en-Bresse) to take on another dimension and definitively convince NBA recruiters. “It’s a real shame,” admits Tony Parker. We had put everything in place to succeed in these two projects. But at the time, we didn't see things the same way with the coach (TJ Parker, his brother). Afterwards, I completely understand Victor's decision and that of Zaccharie (to leave). In the end, it’s a great thing for French basketball. For ASVEL, it’s a real shame. Even if basketball people know that there is a job with them that was done very well at ASVEL, it is a shame not to have been able to finish the project. It leaves a little bitter taste.” Then aged 18 (in 2021-22), Victor Wembanyama had played 34 matches in the ASVEL jersey in all competitions, averaging 9.4 points in 18 minutes for Betclic Elite and 6.5 points in 17 minutes in the Euroleague At 17 years old (in 2022-23), Zaccharie Risacher played 13 minutes. per match, for an average of 3 points, in the league and in the European Cup.
T.Parker: “I am convinced that TJ is a very good coach”
Tony Parker also looks back on a painful episode in his presidency, that of the ousting of his younger brother TJ, who arrived on the ASVEL bench as head coach in 2020, but was fired in the fall of 2023. Since then, the 40-year-old coach bounced back by becoming an assistant at Bayern Munich, but he admitted a few weeks ago that he no longer saw “much” with his brother and that their relationship had been “a little affected”. “Separating myself from my brother was not an easy decision,” admits “TP”. TJ will have his vision of things and I will have mine. The most important thing is that he is happy, that he succeeds his career as a coach and I will make my way. His statements left me neither warm nor cold. He spent eleven years at ASVEL and I remain convinced that he is a very good coach. I'm happy that Gordi (Gordon Herbert, Bayern Munich coach) gave him a chance as first assistant. This 2023-2024 season is the most difficult of my ten years of presidency, clearly the worst. This is the first since 2018 where we have not won a trophy. » Will his successor, Pierric Poupet, do better?
