By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Four-time NBA champion and six-time All-Star Tony Parker has decided to retire from professional basketball at 37 years of age and after 18 seasons in the league.
“I’m going to retire,” Parker said to ESPN’s The Undefeated. “I decided that I’m not going to play basketball anymore.” The French guard had hinted that he’s leaning towards retirement following the completion of the 2018-2019 season with the Charlotte Hornets.
As to the reasons that ultimately led Parker to make his decision finite? He was feeling that he “can’t be Tony Parker anymore.”
“A lot of different stuff ultimately led me to this decision. But, at the end of the day, I was like, if I can’t be Tony Parker anymore and I can’t play for a championship, I don’t want to play basketball anymore,” Parker told The Undefeated.
Parker tweeted the following regarding his retirement: ” It’s with a lot of emotion that I retire from basketball, it was an incredible journey! Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would live all those unbelievable moments with the NBA and the French National Team. Thank you for everything!”
For almost two decades, Tony Parker was the face of French basketball. He is the only European player who won four NBA titles, all with the San Antonio Spurs, while also winning a Eurobasket gold medal, one silver, two bronzes and one FIBA World Cup bronze medal with the French national team.