Tony Parker explains why he played his final season with Hornets

Nov 11, 2019; San Antonio, TX, USA; Former San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker is introduced during his retirement ceremony at the AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Tony Parker in a Charlotte Hornets uniform at the end of his career was pretty much a cursed image, but now Parker is explaining why he did it.

Parker, who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend as part of the 2023 draft class, was interviewed recently by ESPN’s Malika Andrews. One of the topics that Parker spoke on was why he left the San Antonio Spurs to play his final NBA season with the Hornets.

“I did it because I wanted to spend time with my idol [Michael Jordan],” said Parker of the Charlotte move. “I was excited to go. It was like full circle to me … It was awesome to spend some time with Michael Jordan and [also] playing with my little brother [French countryman] Nicolas Batum.

“I just wanted to experience something different,” Parker added. “Not because I didn’t appreciate everything that I had with the Spurs. It’s just I wanted to do it for my last year.”

It was a stunner when Parker, a four-time champion and six-time All-Star in San Antonio, left the Spurs in 2018 to sign with Charlotte. Parker had played all 17 seasons of his career to that point with San Antonio, and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would be a Spurs lifer just like ex-teammates David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili.

But you can’t blame Parker for wanting to try something new and taking the opportunity to play for the GOAT in Jordan, who then owned the Hornets. Parker’s lone season with the Hornets will not be remembered for much (he averaged just 9.5 points and 3.7 assists per game that year). But he did get to check something really cool off the bucket list in bonding with Jordan, whom it seems Parker shares some common interests with.