Tony Parker’s illustrious international basketball career may be over, but he sees his time with the San Antonio Spurs continuing for significantly longer.
Parker, who announced his retirement from the French national basketball team after they lost to Spain in the Olympic quarterfinal on Wednesday, told Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports that he still wants to play five more years with the Spurs.
“We brought French basketball on the map,” Parker said. “As a French player I’m very proud of what we did in my generation, winning all those medals. Especially in 2013, that’ll be my favorite moment because that was the first time in French basketball history we won a gold medal.
“I want to end my Spurs career on a high note,” Parker continued. “I want to play five more years.”
The 34-year-old Parker, who has expressed this desire before, was still productive for San Antonio in 2015-16 with averages of 11.9 points per game and 5.3 assists per game. But his age-related decline has become apparent in recent seasons, especially when juxtaposed with his freewheeling, up-tempo style of play from years past.
But fortunately, the Spurs no longer need Parker to be that guy with LaMarcus Aldridge in town and Kawhi Leonard fully embracing a primary offensive role. Using his basketball IQ and craftiness alone, Parker does indeed have what it takes to continue to survive in the league for several more seasons.
The six-time All-Star only has two years remaining on his deal, and the dominoes may have been expected to fall quickly with Tim Duncan retired and Manu Ginobili believed to be entering his last year in the NBA. But if Parker gets his way, we’ll still be seeing him slithering around screens and breaking down defenses with his dribble for a long time to come.
Image Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
