Published 11:36 IST, November 12th 2019
Tony Parker: Watch Spurs legend's No 9 jersey go into rafters forever
San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker's No. 9 jersey went into the rafters forever. The team honoured the legendary player in a ceremony at AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker received the ultimate honour as his No 9 jersey was raised to the rafters of the AT&T Center. A ceremony was held, and plenty of Parker's former teammates were in attendance – Boris Diaw, Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Sean Elliott, Matt Bonner, Roger Mason, Tiago Splitter, Malik Rose, Ronny Turiaf, Charlotte Hornets forward Nicolas Batum, Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill and Washington Wizards center Ian Mahinmi. Parker's former coach Gregg Popovich was also present, and even said some kind words for the former player. Even Ginobili and Duncan wished Parker the best. The jersey was raised to the rafters after all the speeches were over. You can watch the entire ceremony here.
Tony Parker's journey with the San Antonio Spurs
Parker was the 28th overall player selected by the Spurs in the first round of NBA Draft in 2001. He played 17 seasons with the Spurs, and the 18th one with Charlotte Horners for the NBA 2018-19 season. He helped the Spurs to four out of their five championships and was the NBA MVP in 2007 finals. He leads the Spurs' all-time assists leaderboard with 6829 assists.
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The point guard played 1254 regular-season games in his career. He finished his NBA career with an average of 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Parker played 226 playoffs games averaged at 17.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. At the peak of career, Parker was one of the quickest NBA guards.
Parker played with Ginobili and Duncan for a majority of his career. The trio experienced a lot of success together, and now have their jerseys retired by the team. Hence, both Ginobili and Duncan spoke about Parker and thanked him for all the memories they have created together during the ceremony. They wished him all the best for his future. After their speeches, the jersey was finally raised.
Updated 13:07 IST, November 12th 2019