Tony Parker announced his retirement from the NBA on Monday, ending a fantastic 18-year career that included four championships and six All-Star appearances with the San Antonio Spurs.
Of course, Parker spent the final year of his career with the Charlotte Hornets, but I don't think there is anyone who will even remember Parker wearing the blue and purple.
No. Parker is synonymous with the silver and black in San Antonio, where he forged a career as one of the best international players this game has ever seen and one of the best point guards in the league during his prime.
Sadly, Parker retiring marks the end and retirement of the original “Big Three” of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Parker.
With the Frenchman now hanging it up for good, here are the five greatest moments of his career.
5. Scoring 55 Points
Back in November 2008 in an otherwise meaningless regular-season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Parker poured in 55 points off a ridiculous 22-of-36 clip, going 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
In addition, Parker dished out 10 assists, making him the first player since Michael Jordan to have 50 points and 10 assists in a game.
This was peak Tony Parker, when he had blinding speed, untouchable handles and an ability to finish at the rim like few others guards in NBA history have ever possessed.
That 2008-09 campaign ended in a first-round loss for the Spurs, but that 55-point outburst from Parker was unquestionably one of the best moments of his career.
4. The Game 1 Sealer in the 2013 Finals
The 2013 NBA Finals are pretty fuzzy as a whole to Spurs fans, as San Antonio went on to lose to the Miami Heat in devastating fashion, but in Game 1 of the series, Parker sealed the game with a late shot-clock beating floater that gave the Spurs a four-point lead and provided them with a 1-0 series lead.
The series ended up going seven games, and people tend to forget that Parker was hobbled throughout most of the rest of the way as the Heat won on to win their second straight title.
Based on the fact that the Spurs lost, Parker's shot in Game 1 gets lost in translation, but it was a huge moment that would have gone down in the annals of NBA history had San Antonio won the series.
3. The Coming Out Party in the 2003 Finals
Going into the 2002-03 campaign, not many people even know who Tony Parker was.
Sure, he was the Spurs' starting point guard, but this was before playing for San Antonio carried all that much cachet, as the Spurs had only won one championship at that time.
But that season, Parker went on to play a pivotal role in helping San Antonio hang its second banner, as he put together some key performances in those NBA Finals, including a 26-point outing in a crucial Game 3 victory that gave the Spurs a 2-1 lead over the New Jersey Nets.
It was clear that Parker still had a lot of room to grow, but that series proved to be the impetus in what went on to become a Hall-of-Fame career.
2. Redemption in 2014
After the Spurs had lost the 2013 Finals in the most heartbreaking way possible, they set their sights on getting back there in 2014 and righting their wrongs, and they did just that, obliterating the same Miami team that had ripped their hearts out the previous year.
Parker led San Antonio with 18 points per game, making 47.9 percent of his shots and 41.7 percent of his three-pointers. He also delivered blow after blow in the deciding Game 5, burying the Heat with an onslaught of mid-range jumpers in the second half.
Of course, that Spurs team was all about the sum of its parts, but Parker's role was palpable, and it marked the last championship of the San Antonio dynasty.
1. Finals MVP in 2007
During Parker's first two Finals runs in 2003 and 2005, he played a crucial part, but it was obvious that the Spurs were still Tim Duncan's team.
However, a changing of the guard began to occur in 2007, and while Duncan was still clearly the Spurs' best player, Parker began to take on more responsibility, so much so that he keyed a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in those finals and ended up taking home Finals MVP honors after averaging 24.5 points per game while making 56.8 percent of his shots.
That represented a time when Parker was at his best and was virtually unguardable, and there are even some who believe that that 2007 Spurs team was their best (although others like myself toward 2014).
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