“I didn’t dream of…

By Joël Pütz | Sports journalist

Although he often enjoyed great success during his career in the NBA, Tony Parker never managed to win gold at the Olympic Games with France. Would he have been ready to trade one of his championship titles for the ultimate coronation with the Blues? Asked about this a few months ago, the former leader answered cash.

Even today, Tony Parker remains the absolute reference in terms of French basketball. Victor Wembanyama certainly has the potential to dislodge him from the GOAT throne in France, but he still has a long way to go. In particular when it comes to prize lists where it will be complicated to find the former Spurs legend…

As a reminder, we are still talking about four championship titles NBA in the Texan jersey, his having been retired in San Antonio since 2019. In addition to that, the Habs were also MVP of the 2007 Finals, won against the Cavaliers of a young LeBron James. Suffice to say that Parker really won everything on American soil.

TP favors NBA ring over Olympic gold medal

On the other hand, we cannot make the same observation about the French team. Certainly European champion in 2013 with the Blues, TP has never done better than fourth place at the Olympic Games (in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro). Would he have been willing to trade one of his championship rings with a gold charm with his selection? The person concerned was honest on this subject, during an appearance on the show Popcorn :

That's a good question. I grew up in a house where my father is American, my mother is Dutch and I grew up in France. So it's true that I grew up with… the dream was the NBA and it was to win an NBA title. I didn't dream too much about the Olympics and of course, we all saw the Dream Team in 1992 with Jordan, Magic Johnson, the Barcelona Olympics were incredible.

But for me, my dream was to win in the NBA. So, I wouldn't trade my NBA title for an Olympic gold medal. But it's true that with the French team, it would have been great to win a medal. But we have the gold medal (at Euro 2013) and I prefer to be called a golden generation than a multi-medal winning generation.

And winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games is very, very hard like the United States, they win all the time! So I'm happy with the gold medal we got in the French team.

It is true that in his time, beating the US was utopian. But this year in Paris, the EDF almost achieved the feat… See you in 2028 for the revenge in Los Angeles.

Tony Parker dreamed above all of a career in the NBA when he was young. On top of that, he didn't grow up in a French household… It's therefore not surprising that he favors a champion's ring in the US over an Olympic gold medal.