Tony Parker

Early life

Parker was born on May 17, 1982, in Bruges, Belgium, and raised in France. His father, Tony Parker Sr., an African American, played basketball at Loyola University Chicago as well as professionally in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. His mother, Pamela Firestone, is a model of Dutch, German, English and Irish origin. His maternal grandmother, Jetty Baars-Wienese, is a Dutch national tennis champion (1956), whose brother and Tony's great-uncle Jan Wienese is an Olympic gold medalist in rowing. Parker enjoyed close relationships with his brothers, and they would often attend their father's basketball games together. At first, Parker was more interested in soccer, but after watching the evolution of Michael Jordan into a global basketball superstar during summer trips to his father's native city of Chicago, he changed his mind. Parker's two younger brothers were also heavily involved in basketball; T.J. and Pierre would go on to play basketball at college and professional levels. As Parker built his skill, he played the point guard position, recognizing that his speed and agility made this position ideal for him. At age 15, he became a naturalized French citizen while retaining his American nationality. He was eventually asked to attend the INSEP in Paris.

The fortune

During his playing career, Parker donated a block of 20 tickets for each home game to underprivileged youth. In 2006, Parker became the first ambassador for Make-A-Wish France, the French division of a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. His work with Make-A-Wish includes hosting a yearly gala with other celebrities, such as Omar Sy, to raise money for the foundation. Parker is also known for participating in former NBA point guard Steve Nash's foundation, as well as his ex-wife Eva Longoria's NGO Eva's Heroes.

Personal life

Parker met American actress Eva Longoria in November 2004. In August 2005, Longoria confirmed that she and Parker were dating. On 30 November 2006, the couple became engaged. Longoria, a Texas native from nearby Corpus Christi, was a courtside regular at Spurs home games. Parker was quoted during the 2007 NBA All-Star Game saying that, "Eva is doing everything, I'm just going to show up and say yes." They were married in a civil service on 6 July 2007, at a Paris city hall. That was followed by a full Catholic wedding ceremony at the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois Church in Paris, France, on 7 July 2007. Boris Diaw, fellow French national team member and future NBA teammate, was Parker's best man for the wedding. On 17 November 2010, Longoria filed for divorce in Los Angeles, citing "irreconcilable differences" after Parker reportedly engaged in an emotional affair with the wife of his Spurs teammate Brent Barry. Longoria sought spousal support from Parker. The couple had a prenuptial agreement that was signed in June 2007, the month before their wedding, and amended two years later in June 2009. Unlike Longoria's divorce petition, Parker's did not mention a prenuptial agreement and claimed that the parties "will enter into an agreement for the division of their estate". The divorce was finalized in Texas on 28 January 2011, the same day Longoria's lawyer filed papers to dismiss her Los Angeles petition. Parker began dating French journalist Axelle Francine in 2011. In June 2013, it was reported that the couple was engaged. Parker and Axelle Francine married on 2 August 2014. They have two sons born in April 2014 and July 2016. The couple announced their separation in August 2020. From 2021 to 2024, Parker dated French professional tennis player Alizé Lim.

Career

Parker played for France's Junior National Teams at the 1997 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, both the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. He was elected the Most Valuable Player of the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, when France captured the gold medal, as he averaged 14.4 points and 2.5 assists per game. Parker averaged 25.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.8 steals per game at the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. With the French senior national team, Parker has played in the 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 2013 and 2015 FIBA EuroBaskets. France won the bronze medal in the 2005 FIBA EuroBasket, by defeating the Spanish national team 98–68 in the bronze medal game. As the captain of the French national team since 2003, Parker was slated to lead France at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, but he was unable to play after breaking a finger when he caught his hand in the jersey of a Brazilian national team player in France's final warm-up for the tournament. During the EuroBasket 2007, Parker averaged 20.1 points per game and 2.8 assists per game in nine tournament games, but France was defeated in the quarter-finals by the Russian national team. He passed the 2010 FIBA World Championship to recover fully from some injuries he had during the 2009–10 NBA season. Parker returned to the team in 2011, and France reached the finals of the 2011 EuroBasket, losing to Spain. Parker also joined the team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In 2013, Parker and the French national team won the 2013 FIBA EuroBasket tournament. While Parker had a "quiet game" in the final with only 12 points, he was named the MVP for the tournament.

While playing for France in EuroBasket 2015, in a group game against Poland, Parker scored his 1,032nd career point in the tournament, and in doing so, he overtook Nikos Galis as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the EuroBasket competition. That record was later broken by Pau Gasol. During the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila, Philippines, in July 2016, Parker announced his intention to retire from international competition, but not the NBA, after the 2016 Summer Olympics. He reiterated that intent after France lost in the quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro. On 12 July 2024, the French Federation of Basketball officially retired Parker's national team jersey number 9, ahead of a friendly game against Serbia at the LDLC Arena in Lyon. Retiring a number for a player is not a French tradition, thus, his number retirement was the first of such kind in any French sport.