'You're Messing With My Money!' Spurs' Robert Horry Wasn't Fan of Parker, Ginobili Playing International
This summer's FIBA World Cup brought about plenty of conversation regarding worldwide basketball competition and the legitimacy of it.
Are NBA Champions also World Champions? Who is the best basketball player in the world? Does Noah Lyles have a point?
Simply put, the answer to those questions depend on who you're asking, when you're asking them and in what context the question was posed. But while we've already heard Lyles' point of view, as well as multiple NBA superstars and even Gregg Popovich — though 13 years ago — there is another perspective that tends to be looked over.
Former San Antonio Spurs power forward Robert Horry brings that point of view to the conversation: teammates of top international players.
Manu Ginobili, Robert Horry and Tim Duncan played together with the San Antonio Spurs from 2003-08.
Horry played for the Spurs from 2003-2008, averaging within the range of 2.5 to 6 points in each of his five seasons, winning two titles in the process. Because he was nearing the end of his career, his minutes under Popovich were significantly less than what he'd been used to.
Horry may have played a smaller role in San Antonio, but some of his teammates certainly did not, namely Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. And while they did do their part in making the Spurs successful, Horry found himself slightly concerned about their production given that they were also heavily involved in playing for their home countries.
"I looked at Manu, and I looked at Tony; I said, 'I'm all about believing in your country, but you're messing with my money,'" Horry told the Big Shot Bob Pod. "When you come into the NBA season, you don't have the same gusto, you're tired at the end of the season, you don't have legs."
So, there's the new perspective. It's less centered on whether or not the international competition is legitimate, but it still speaks to the perception of basketball overseas — even before Popovich's original comments.
At the end of the day, Ginobili and Parkers' legs ended up being more than fine. The Spurs won four titles with that duo, and Horry was a part of two of those. He may not have been the biggest fan of his teammates' decision to play overseas, but it didn't hurt him, either.
Regardless, his perspective does bring a unique stance to the international basketball debate, for better or for worse. And that debate isn't going to go away anytime soon.
