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Throwback Thursday: Spurs Icon Tony Parker Leads France to EuroBasket Title
EuroBasket 2022 tips off today, and while there are no San Antonio Spurs representing their country in the tournament, that wasn't always the case.
Spurs icon Tony Parker played a massive role for the French National Team from 2001-15, leading his country in eight tournaments ... but none were more important than his penultimate showing in 2013.
France lost its opening match to Germany, but cruised to four straight wins, the top spot in their group and a trip to the knockout stage. Parker was crucial in every victory, all but double digits apart from a six-point win against Ukraine. Parker scored a game-high 28 to beat Ukraine and 20 in the following game against Belgium.
In the quarterfinals, Parker continued his dominance, scoring 27 points in a 72-62 quarterfinal victory over Slovenia to advance to the semifinals against Spain.
Parker kicked it up another notch in the quarterfinals, scoring 32 points in an overtime win against the Spaniards to advance to his first EuroBasket Final. During the game, he became the second-leading scorer in EuroBasket history.
In the final against Lithuania, France powered through a 31-12 run in the second quarter to beat them by single digits and win France's first EuroBasket title.
Parker led all scorers in the tournament, averaging 19 points per game en route to the title. This came just months after the Spurs lost to the Miami Heat in the 2013 NBA Finals, but Parker was able to parlay his success into the following season, and in 2014, the Spurs won their fifth NBA championship as a franchise ... the fourth in Parker's career.
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