By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Three famous European stars and a legendary head coach with Serbian and Croatian roots are part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, and Gregg Popovich spoke about their journey and the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame at the press conference held the day before their official induction.
Gasol began his NBA career in 2001 and spent 18 years playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, and Milwaukee Bucks. He won two championships with the LA team in 2009 and 2010.
“When I came to the US, there were high expectations. I just wanted to make my country proud. You don’t start playing basketball when you have already made it. You don’t say, ‘I want to be a Hall of Famer.’ You try to be the best you can be, be a great teammate, win championships. If you do that, everything falls into place,” Gasol said.
He’s proud to stand alongside fellow Europeans and share this special moment with Nowitzki and Parker.
“This class is an incredible accomplishment for European basketball and for international basketball as well. The game has grown so much since we first started playing in the NBA. We can be very proud of having taken the international game to a higher level and very proud of seeing how current players are taking it to the next level. It’s very special to share this moment with Dirk and Tony. It’s remarkable, something that was unthinkable not too long ago. It’s beautiful to share the message that things are possible, things do change and improve, things are exciting, and allow any kid, boy or girl, to dream that they can do it too. That’s the exciting part for me.”
Parker will be the first French player to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. He was also part of the 2001 Draft Class with Gasol and spent the majority of his career with the San Antonio Spurs, winning four championships (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) and becoming a part of the great dynasty.
“It feels surreal. I never thought somebody like me could experience something like that. The last two weeks were unbelievable, working on my speech, being nostalgic, and realizing everything that we achieved with the Spurs. It’s been very special to share that with my family and friends. We are celebrating a lot of different stuff. It’s been an unbelievable journey, and I took nothing for granted and feel very blessed. A lot of people helped me along the way, so let’s enjoy,” Parker said.
Parker, Gasol, and Nowitzki paved the way for many other international stars in the NBA.
“It’s pretty cool to see how international basketball exploded. We were like the first wave where NBA teams could trust international guys to be franchise players. I always took it very seriously to be an ambassador for French basketball.”
Nowitzki came to the NBA a bit earlier, in 1998, and spent his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks, winning the championship in 2011 as the Finals MVP. He was also the NBA MVP in 2007 and a 14-time NBA All-Star. But he claims nothing surpasses being part of the Hall of Fame.
“There is nothing else coming for my basketball career. The Hall of Fame is the top of the mountain. This caps the first phase of my life,” Nowitzki said.
Spending 21 years with one team is a true testament to loyalty and a remarkable achievement.
“It’s been an amazing ride. When I first got to Dallas, I didn’t know how it would play out. I wasn’t sure whether I was good enough or could make it in this league. We just kept getting better as a team and individually. Mark Cuban buying the team in my second year helped a lot. He was a big supporter of mine and became a good friend. He’s been super loyal to me. Everything kind of grew together. I was becoming part of the community, getting the support back. It feels amazing I was able to be there my entire career and always represent the Dallas Mavs.”
Born to a Serbian father and Croatian mother in East Chicago, Indiana, Popovich started his coaching career in 1973 as an assistant in the Air Force after spending four years playing college basketball there.
He came to San Antonio in 1988, left the team for two years in 1992 to join the Golden State Warriors, but returned in 1996 as a head coach, which marked the beginning of a dynasty. He won five NBA championships with the Spurs, was named three times NBA Coach of the Year, and holds the record for the most wins of any coach in NBA history.
He’ll start his 28th season at the helm of the San Antonio team this summer, so the question is, what keeps him going?
“Money, money, money. I buy cars, clothes, houses…” Popovich joked but continued in a more serious manner, “I think it’s just competitive nature, and I think most of us here are the same way. The competition is just thrilling. The teaching is fun in a sense you get to see people grow on and off the court, and over time those guys become your friends to the point I might find myself listening to them more than they are listening to me. They are young, their minds are active. Manu Ginobili is the most curious individual I’ve ever met in my life. He didn’t go to college, but he’d be reading about black holes in space, and he’ll ask me about different books, and it’s keeping me rolling. That’s the fun part of it all.”