With San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker announcing his retirement from the NBA on Monday, there's no better time to take a look back at some of the highlights of his historic career.
June 27, 2001 - Draft night
Parker famously bombed his first workout with the Spurs, so much so that Gregg Popovich thought he'd seen enough of the teenage point guard from France after just 10 minutes.
But after giving Parker a second chance to showcase his abilities, Popovich and his staff obviously saw something that few other teams did. The Spurs ended up selecting Parker No. 28 overall in 2001.
Among his draft class, which includes fellow All-Stars Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, Tyson Chandler, Zach Randolph, Gilbert Arenas, Gerald Wallace, and Mehmet Okur, Parker currently ranks first in career assists and third in career points.
June 7-14, 2007 - The Finals MVP run
Parker was a part of championship-winning teams in 2003 and 2005, but 2007 was truly the Frenchman's coming-out party.
Riding the wave of two consecutive All-Star appearances, a 25-year-old Parker achieved the biggest individual feat of his career, securing 2007 Finals MVP honors in the Spurs' sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At 24.5 points per game, it was easily Parker's highest scoring average in any of his five trips to The Finals.
Nov. 5, 2008 - Parker's career-best scoring night
With three titles and a Finals MVP under his belt, Parker was at the apex of his powers in the late aughts.
Coming into the fourth game of the 2008-09 season averaging 26 points per game, the Frenchman had one for the ages, recording a career-high 55 points on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
By the standard of today's top scorers, Parker's line looks hilariously antiquated. He only shot three 3-pointers (connecting on two) and got to the line just 10 times (sinking nine).
As was the case throughout his career, Parker's bread and butter that night was driving to the hoop. He shot 20-of-33 (60.6 percent) on 2-point shots that evening, leading the Spurs to a double-overtime victory.
He also added 10 assists and seven rebounds.
May 21, 2013 - Parker drops 18 dimes
Parker's career assist numbers were solid but never really jumped off the chart like some of his pass-first contemporaries (Parker's career assist percentage was 32.2; Steve Nash's was 41.5 percent; Jason Kidd's was 38.5 percent).
Well, for one night in the 2013 Western Conference finals, Parker carved up the Memphis Grizzlies' vaunted Grit and Grind defense for a career-high 18 assists.
Just like his 55-point night, this game also went beyond regulation, with the Spurs winning in overtime.
Sept. 4-22, 2013 - EuroBasket
Having won a bronze medal at EuroBasket 2005 and a silver at EuroBasket 2011, France finally broke through with its first gold-medal finish in Slovenia in 2013.
Victory wasn't always assured for Parker and Co. The team suffered a tournament-opening loss to Germany in the first round of group play, then dropped games to Lithuania and Serbia in the next round.
But from that point on, France reeled off a spectacular run to the title, beating host Slovenia in the quarterfinals, powerhouse Spain in the semifinals, and finally Lithuania for the gold medal.
Parker was especially instrumental in France's overtime win against Spain, scoring 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting.
For his efforts, Parker was named tournament MVP.
Jan. 14, 2019 - Parker's return to San Antonio
Parker only played one game in San Antonio as a member of the opposing team - Jan. 14 of this year while playing his final season with the Charlotte Hornets.
In his emotional return to the city, Parker finished with eight points and four assists in 19 minutes of action.
