Tony Parker   

Created by: Indrani Saha

 

 

 

 

 

Pays/Ville

I was born in Brugges, Belgium, but have lived in Paris, France for most of my childhood. After being drafted to the NBA, I currently live in Texas and play for the San Antonio Spurs.

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 Details Personnels:

Now a high-profile husband and an NBA Finals MVP, I believe I have come a long way since my childhood in France. Growing up in France, I would have never imagined my profession and its influence on French culture today.  When I was just a young child, I remember waking up at three o’ clock in the morning to be able to watch NBA legend Michael Jordan play. Still today, Jordan is one of the most prominent role models I have in my life. I always wanted to be just like him and eventually, I too was able to play in the NBA. Comfortable in my role as an NBA star and a cultural icon, I am proud to be increasing the popularity of such an extraordinary sport.

 

 

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 Date de Naissance:

May 17, 1982

 

Sexe:

Male

 

Situation de Famille:

I am married to American actress Eva Longoria.

 

Metier:

I am the point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, the Director of Operations for France's most titled basketball team and I am a French rap artist as well.

 

Interets/Loisirs:

I like watching sports on television, listening to music, eating at French cuisine restaurants, having parties with my friends, playing video games, surfing the internet, travelling (especially the Bahamas’ islands and Bali), playing tennis, roller-skating, go-kart racing and spending time with my family. Although I play basketball for the NBA, I also like to watch soccer, hockey (NHL) and baseball whenever I am not on the court.

 

Favorite Foods/Drinks:

My favorite things to eat and drink are macaroni and cheese, goat cheese, wheat grass juice, Fanta, Sprite and Vitamin Water drinks.

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Accomplissements/Sports:

I played in the French national league for two years before being drafted by the Spurs in 2001.  In 2000, I was chosen as the MVP in the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Then, in 2001, after joining the San Antonio Spurs, I was a part of the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Right now, I am the starting point guard for the San Antonia Spurs and have helped lead the team to three NBA Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007.  The year the Spurs won the 2007 NBA Championship, I was selected to receive the National Basketball Association Finals’ most valuable player award and the Euroscar European Player of the Year award too. I was also voted to play in the NBA All-Star game in 2006, 2007 and 2009. One of my proudest achievements is being a part of the 2008-2009 All-NBA Third Team.

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Education:

I was fortunate enough to  attend the prestigious French government-run Institut National du Sport (National Institute for Sports and Physical Education) in Paris.  In spite of aggressive recruiting attempts by various NCAA schools, I remained in France for my college education.

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Films Preferes:

In regards to movies and actors, I like Will Smith in " Bad Boys ", Nicolas Cage in "Face-Off ", Caterina Zeta-Jones in "Entrapment", Claire Forlany in " Meet Joe Black ", Cuba Goodding Jr in " Men of Honor".

 

Musique Preferee:

I like listening to hip-hop music and rap. My favorite musical artists are Jay Z, Eminem and 50 Cent.

 

Amis:

Boris Diaw is one of my best friends.  When we play for the national team, we always are roommates.  Boris is another French NBA player who is playing in the United States so it easy for us to get together and call each other up. He came to visit for Christmas and was my best man at the wedding.

Willy Gallas (Former player in Gravelines) is like a brother to me. I have known him since I was thirteen. When I was attending a camp in Gravelines and he was my coach. We have kept in touch ever since and like Boris, we often call each other. 

Mamoutou Diarra - Player at PBR  (Paris-Basket Racing): I was at the INSEP (Institut National du Sport) with him. We continued on together at the PBR and it is due to him that I discovered French rap.

Alexis Rambur is a childhood friend. When we played in the junior league in Mont Saint-Aignan, his parents helped me tremendously.  My father was not often present, so Alexis’ parents took care of my brothers and me.  They are from Alsace (a region on the East of France) and introduced me to French cuisine.  Alexis now plays in National 1 in Rouen.

Thierry Henry is a European football (soccer) player who I know very well. He is often at many of my NBA games supporting me on the sidelines. My wife and I attended the Euro 2008 during one of France's matches to support Thierry.

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Citation Memorable:

 

"I want to become the first European floor leader to succeed in the NBA. I want to be the

standard-bearer and prove we can succeed here." 

  

"Getting up at three in the morning to watch Michael Jordan,I never

dreamed one day I would be kissing that trophy."

  "If you want to make it to the NBA, you have to

be tough. You have to have a big heart." 

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  Mon Influence sur la Culture Francaise

"I want to become the first European floor leader to succeed in the NBA. I want to be the standard-bearer and prove we can succeed here” was a statement I made a few years ago when I first began playing in the NBA. The statement still holds true today and I can say that the journey to get to where I am today was quite a rollercoaster. Before I could have a profound influence on the French culture, I had to embrace it myself. I was actually born in Belgium on May 17, 1982 and moved to France when I was just three weeks old. My father was American and a basketball player for a team in Rouen. My mother was Dutch and spent time with me most often when I was very young. True to my French roots, I initially pursued an interest in European football, or soccer, and continued to play football until one name entered my vocabulary, Michael Jordan. Ever since watching him, I became hooked on becoming just like him and a national icon for my own people.  Little did I know how great of an influence I would have.

At the time I was in France, basketball was nothing more than a word which was seen on the sports news every now and then. My father was often away so I could not find out all that I wanted to become as important and influential as Michael Jordan. I then decided to attend the prestigious French government-run Institut National du Sport (National Institute for Sports and Physical Education) in Paris.  It was here that I developed even more complex skills which I believe caused me to be sought after by NCAA schools. Regardless of the countless recruiting endeavors made by various schools, I decide to remain in France and play European basketball.  I initially played in the French national league for two years before being drafted by the Spurs in 2001.  I then became their starting point guard and helped lead them to three NBA Championships (2003, 2005, 2007).  Finally, I attained what I believe is one of my more honorable achievements, being named the NBA Finals MVP in the 2007 championships.

After all of these accomplishments in the United States, I began to gain a great deal of respect from around the globe. Surprisingly, my own home country of France supported me as well. I did, in fact, make an attempt to create a documentary titled “9” (my jersey number) in order for the French youth to gain appreciation for a sport which I love to play. "There was a lot of demand in France about my career because soccer is the main sport," I told Sports Illustrated's Arash Markazi, "So I decided to do a documentary about the first half of my career with all the NBA footage and home footage to promote basketball in France…” One of the most interesting things about promoting basketball in a “football-dominated” France is that basketball’s popularity increased with just me, a small boy with a dream, entering a whole new court, the NBA. I feel as though I have influenced French culture by just going after my dream. I think that I was able to prove to countless kids that it is not difficult to become a positive influence in the lives of other. I was lucky to be able to step out of the typical mold of a French citizen and influence other things which allowed for me to return to France and add an athletics piece to the puzzle of French culture.

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Works Cited

Chanda. "French Basketball Player Tony Parker and His American Ties." Weblog post. Transparent Language. 2008. <http://www.transparent.com/french/tag/tony-parker/>.

Jung, Helin. "Tony Parker shoots for rap stardom." PopWatch Blog | Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. 27 May 2007. <http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/03/you_may_know_th.html>.

Partridge, Kenneth J. "Tony Parker: basketball player.(Biography)." Current Biography 69.4 (April 2008): 51(6). General OneFile. Gale. INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL. 9 June 2009.

<http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.

Tony Parker." Newsmakers, Issue 1. Gale Group, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource

Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009.

<http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC>.

Salazar-Moreno, Quibian. "Tony Parker Wants France to Know About His Career - BV on Sports." Black Entertainment and Sports, African American News, Culture, and Community - AOL Black Voices. 14 Oct. 2008. <http://www.blackvoices.com/blogs/2008/10/14/tony-parker-wants-france-to-know-about-his-career/>.

"Tony Parker buys a basketball team: San Antonio Spur purchases second largest share of French squad and takes executive gig." EURweb.com - Black Entertainment | Black News | Urban News | Hip Hop News | Black Entertainment. 2007. <http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur50648.cfm>.