The father of Hall of Fame point guard and former NBA star Tony Parker Jr, Tony Parker Sr., passed away this week at the age of 70, as per Marca.com. No cause of death has been revealed yet by the family. While Parker Jr. had most of his basketball success in the NBA, Parker Sr. was an influential figure in overseas basketball circles.
A Chicago native, Tony Parker Sr. played college basketball at Loyola before embarking on an overseas professional career. He played four seasons for the Rambles from 1973-77, appearing in a total of 92 games at a little over 34 minutes per game. He held career averages of 17.4 points and 6.9 rebounds with splits of 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 67.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line. There was no three-point shot when Parker Sr. was playing.
Following his college career, Parker Sr. went on to play professionally in France, the Netherlands and Belgium. He is survived by his three sons, Tony Parker Jr., TJ Parker and Pierre Parker. All three have also gone on to play professional basketball with Tony Jr. the most well-known.
Tony Jr. was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. He was a six-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA champion and the 2007 Finals MVP. Across his 17-year NBA career, he played 16 of those season with the Spurs, and his final season coming in 2018-19 with the Charlotte Hornets. He was ultimately selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
While Tony Jr. never played college basketball in the United States, TJ and Pierre did with TJ playing at Northwestern and Pierre playing at his father’s alma mater of Loyola Chicago. Both have also played professionally overseas.
