Spurs to retire Tony Parker’s jersey on November 11th

NBA – The San Antonio Spurs are reportedly retiring Tony Parker’s No.9 jersey in a special ceremony on November 11th, 2019. The club has yet to make an official announcement, but that date would be the end of a three-game home defense by the Spurs.

He announced his retirement at the end of the 2018-19 season. The other Spurs’ “Big 3,” Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili already have had their jerseys.

“A lot of different stuff ultimately led me to this decision. But, at the end of the day, I was like, if I can’t be Tony Parker anymore and I can’t play for a championship, I don’t want to play basketball anymore.”

The Frenchman was drafted by the Spurs 28th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft. He ended up playing 17 seasons for the Spurs and one season for the Charlotte Hornets.

Across Parker’s 18-season career he mustered averages of 15.5 ppg and 5.6 apg. He was a six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA team and has won four NBA Championships with the Spurs. Parker was also named the 2006-07 Finals MVP.

Given Parker’s stacked list of accomplishments, it comes as no surprise that he’s widely considered one of the best European players to ever play in the NBA. He should be enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame soon enough as well.