Tim Duncan and Tony Parker spent many years playing together in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, and they became great friends while enjoying a lot of success. Tim Duncan played in San Antonio from 1997-2016 and Tony Parker was there from 2001-2018. The two were part of the Spurs' ‘big three' that also consisted of Manu Ginóbili. The three of them were together from 2002 until 2016 and won four NBA championships together. While they ended up getting along together great, Tim Duncan apparently didn't talk to Tony Parker while Parker was a rookie.
Parker recently spoke about it and discussed why Duncan didn't speak to him, and his explanation got a lot of laughs from the NBA community.
“My rookie year Timmy didn't talk to me,” Parker said. “People think I'm crazy when I say that but it's true. Timmy don't like French people. He doesn't like my French accent.”
Sounds like Duncan and Parker got off to a bit of a rocky start with the Spurs, but it all worked out in the end, which is all that matters. Parker's French accent must've grown on Duncan over the years.
It would be hard to not be great friends after the amount of time the two of them spent together in San Antonio and the impact they had on the Spurs organization. So much was accomplished in their time with the team and they left the Spurs in a very good spot. It's good to see that they built a long-lasting friendship in the process.