Tony Parker Announces Retirement After 18-Year NBA Career
Six-time NBA All-Star point guard Tony Parker has retired following an 18-year career, he told ESPN's The Undefeated.
Parker, 37, won four NBA titles (all with the San Antonio Spurs) and was named to four All-NBA teams. He spent the first 17 seasons of his career with the Spurs prior to spending the past year with the Charlotte Hornets.
"A lot of different stuff [brought me to make this decision]," Parker said. "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, then I don't want to play basketball anymore."
Parker expressed that he wanted to play 20 seasons and believes that he can still contribute to NBA teams. However, he concluded that he found no reason to continue playing since he's no longer a member of the Spurs. He averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists across 56 games with Charlotte last season, in which he served as a backup to All-Star guard Kemba Walker.
Parker, named the 2007 Finals MVP, averaged 15.5 points and 5.6 assists over the course of his career. The French national was originally selected by the Spurs with the 28th pick in the 2001 NBA draft.
