NBA: basketball player Tony Parker, first French player in the Hall of Fame
Tony Parker during a Spurs game against the Wizards, November 26, 2016 in Washington GETTY/AFP
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Tony Parker, four-time NBA champion with San Antonio is the first Frenchman in history to enter the Hall of Fame, announced Saturday the prestigious institution. He will be inducted along with two other Europeans, Germany's Dirk Nowitzki and Spain's Pau Gasol.
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On August 12 in Springfield (Massachusetts), French basketball player Tony Parker will officially enter the history of the Hall of Fame during an induction ceremony into the NBA Hall of Fame. He will be accompanied by Germany's Dirk Nowitzki and Spain's Pau Gasol.
These three basketball players are the first in their country to know this supreme honor reserved for the elite of the orange ball elite. Their induction will take place at a ceremony scheduled for August 12 in Springfield.
This 2023 vintage is exceptional in more ways than one, as Europe finds itself in force for the first time in the Hall of Fame, Dwyane Wade being the only American to complete the quartet of former players.
Parker, the man with four rings
Parker, winner of Euro 2013 with the France, can especially boast of having more championship rings than his two acolytes (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014), all won with Spurs, alongside Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, already members of the Hall of Fame, with whom he formed one of the most formidable "Big 3" in history. He was also the first European voted MVP of a final in 2007.
An inveterate scorer, Nowitzki is the 6th leading scorer in NBA history (31,560 points in 1,522 games) in the regular season. The first European voted MVP of the regular season in 2007, the "Wunderkid" guided the Mavericks, his long-time team, to the only title in their history in 2011.
It is an honor for me to have been elected to the NBA Hall of Fame in first ballot. I am very moved. I could never have imagined, in my wildest dreams, to be there one day. Thank you all for supporting me! pic.twitter.com/4qmZoMDB9x
— Tony Parker (@tonyparker) April 1, 2023
Gasol was crowned champion twice with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010, as Kobe Bryant's lieutenant. Recently, their acts have been set side by side on the ceiling of the L.A. venue. The Barcelonan also has one of the finest international records, once world champion (2006) and three times European champion (2009, 2011, 2015).
Other nominees include Gregg Popovich, a five-time champion with San Antonio and the NBA's most successful coach, and Becky Hamon, who served as Popovich's assistant from 2014 to 2021, becoming the first female head coach of a professional men's team for a short time to interim.
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With AFP
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