A peek up at the rafters of the San Antonio Spurs home arena reveals a couple of noticeable absences. Gone are the jerseys of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The reason, though widely assumed considering both recently entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was officially given on Wednesday.
The Spurs are holding a “Tony Parker Hall of Fame Game” on Sunday, December 17th when the team hosts the New Orleans Pelicans. This themed game will feature activations and giveaways paying tribute to Parker’s recent induction into the Hall of Fame alongside Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and other basketball legends.
The details
When the Spurs retired Parker's jersey in November of 2019, they did so—as they usually do for such events—in a ceremony following that night's game.
Next month, Parker is set to address the crowd at halftime as part of a tribute that will include a re-raising of his retired jersey. His number 9 will be newly embellished with his Hall-of-Fame status.
The game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. at the Frost Bank Center. All fans in attendance will receive a free T-shirt celebrating the Spurs' all-time leader in assists. The organization says there will be additional activations throughout game day tying back to Parker's iconic career and impact on the Spurs organization, including photo ops around the arena and a special collection of commemorative Tony Parker Hall of Fame products available for purchase in the Fan Shop.
Local Naismith Hall of Fame love
Enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12th, the Spurs are now taking this opportunity to celebrate one of their fabled ‘Big 3' with San Antonians.
Shorty before the Hall-of-Fame ceremonies in Auguest, Parker told ClutchPoints, “It's super special, a huge honor.”
“It's very rare, those kinds of rewards. It's crazy,” the 2007 NBA Finals MVP continued, “I've been very nostalgic, going through the memories is pretty cool. And to go in with Pop and with my big sister, Becky Hammon, that's going to be pretty special.”
"I've been very nostalgic…"@tonyparker on next month's HOF induction⬇️
Tony chooses Tim & Manu as his enshrinement presenters. Along w/them & Big Dave, he'll also present Pop.
1 on 1 with TP on Pop's extension, Wemby & more at: https://t.co/wO5nvngzKm#GoSpursGo #PorVida pic.twitter.com/o9VBsZmgwr
— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) July 12, 2023
Parker went into the Hall with his legendary coach, Gregg Popovich, and Hammon, the current Las Vegas Aces WNBA championship coach who coached Parker with the Spurs from 2014 to 2018 as an assistant before he signed with the Charlotte Hornets.
The ceremony honors a career that saw the si- time All-Star assume starting point guard duties for a contender at the age of 19, shortly after arriving in San Antonio from France in 2001. Two years later, Parker helped Tim Duncan to the 2003 title.
Two years after that, while sharing the back court with fellow eventual Hall-of-Famer Manu Ginobili, he proved key to another title before a Finals MVP performance to capture the 2007 championship. When the Silver and Black reclaimed the mountaintop in 2014, Parker led the team in scoring during the regular season and in the playoffs.
Completing the rafters
When Parker's ceremonial jersey gets hoisted back up to the rafters, Ginobili's jersey will be the franchise's lone retired one that will be missing. A related ceremony to honor the Argentinian star at the then-AT&T Center was held in March of 2019. He gained enshrinement into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2022. Along with Parker and defensive ace Bruce Bowen, Ginobili won four NBA championships with San Antonio.
The Spurs have not yet announced when Ginobili's number will be re-raised,.It's a good assumption, though, that number 20 and number 9 will again hang right next to Duncan's number 21 when that time inevitably comes.
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