By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
“He is the best ever French player and I didn’t want him to leave this way.” Coach Vincent Collet used this words after the defeat by Spain to say goodbye to Tony Parker who retired from the French national team.
That was the last game for Parker, Florent Pietrus, Mickael Gelabale and only Boris Diaw remains – at least for the moment – active from the “Parker generation”, the best ever version of the French national team.
In the press conference, Parker confirmed his decision: “This was my last game, I am not going to change my mind like that. The last 16 years has been great and I don’t regret one second. But at the same time, I don’t want to throw away everything that we’ve done the last 16 years, the last eight or nine years with coach (Vincent) Collet”.
As Parker said: “I’m very proud of what we did with the national team. It’s the best results in the history of French basketball. I’m obviously disappointed that we lost the game and think we could have done a lot better but Spain was just great tonight. We made a decision to stop Pau and Mirotic goes off, but that’s basketball.
For the first time in history, we went to two Olympics in a row and the last five years, we’ve gotten a medal every year. I just don’t want to, like my whole team, (say) don’t forget what we all accomplished. In 2005, it had been 50 years since French basketball had won a medal. So I think we put French basketball on the map.
Obviously, we played against a great generation of Spain because we played them the last six or seven years and we won some, they won some. It was just a great rivalry. They won tonight, that’s why I give them credit. (But) As a French player, I’m very proud of what we did with my generation in winning all of those medals. Especially 2013 will be my favorite moment because that was the first time in French basketball history that we won a gold medal.”
The fact that Spain has beaten France by almost by 30 points may have been a motivation for him to stay, but that was it. As he said: “”I felt like Spain was the Spurs and I was on the other side”.
Parker was the Eurobasket champion with France in 2013, won the silver medal in 2011 and also two bronze Eurobasket medals in 2015 and 2005.
He also said goodbye to his fans, coaches and teammates via twitter. As he wrote: “Thanks to my teammates, my coach Vincent Collet and the French basketball federation. I am proud for representing France. I also want to thank equally all the French fans for their support. It was a magnificent adventure”.