TrueHoop: Is Parker the NBA's elite point guard?

[Old School 44]

In the Western Conference Finals against the Memphis Grizzlies (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mem/memphis-grizzlies), Tony Parker (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1015/tony-parker) averaged 24.5 points per game, 9.5 assists and two steals while shooting 53.2 percent from the field. That's pretty impressive, considering the Grizzlies had the second-best defense during the regular season.

Parker has also led the Spurs in scoring and assists for three consecutive seasons and five of the last eight seasons.

What's more, Parker has won 70 percent of the games he’s played in, including the playoffs, the best winning percentage among point guards during that span.

Complete article:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/58819/is-parker-the-nbas-elite-point-guard (http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/58819/is-parker-the-nbas-elite-point-guard)

[spursfan09]

Yeah he's pretty good huh?

[BatManu20]

I don't like all the attention he's suddenly getting though. I guess it's inevitable considering there's only 3 teams left in the playoffs and he just made the Finals. But I prefer flying under the radar.

[spursfan09]

Parker deserves all the praise. I'm sure he loves it.

[Dex]

Parker deserves all the praise. I'm sure he loves it.

It's a long time coming. Dude is always excluded from the elite point guard conversation, despite being the only one who has won multiple titles (Rondo being the only current elite PG to have one), has a Finals MVP, and now, has carried a team to the NBA Finals.

Rose is the only player I might take above Parker for the Spurs at this point, but his latest drama even makes me doubt that. Parker has cemented his spot as a All-Time Top 5 Spur. You can pick the order however you want, but he belongs in the echelon of Duncan, Robinson, Gervin, and Ginobili.

[703 Spurz]

I don't like all the attention he's suddenly getting though. I guess it's inevitable considering there's only 3 teams left in the playoffs and he just made the Finals. But I prefer flying under the radar.

Makes no difference. If you want to be a champion, you will be known.

[lil'mo]

I don't like all the attention he's suddenly getting though. I guess it's inevitable considering there's only 3 teams left in the playoffs and he just made the Finals. But I prefer flying under the radar.

well no one knows who the fuck you are so you are good.

[Spur|n|Austin]

I don't like all the attention he's suddenly getting though. I guess it's inevitable considering there's only 3 teams left in the playoffs and he just made the Finals. But I prefer flying under the radar.

Under the radar? Spurs are in the Finals.

[LongtimeSpursFan]

I was kinda rooting for the Grizzlies to win Game 4 so we could have a close out game here at home. So when the Grizzlies scored I was kinda excited and it gave me a perspective from a Memphis or NBA fan. While watching the game and seeing Parker doing what he was doing, not just scoring and assists but the way he totally controlled the game was mind boggling. He tore through Tony Allen and their vaunted defense. There were plays which the Memphis players were no more than traffic cones. Parker was masterful in his timely drives, pull up jumpers, use of screens, rotating ball, backdoor cuts, curls, fast breaks, etc and his energy was nonstop despite a blow to the eye by Gasol.
This is when I thought that there was no way that the Grizzlies could beat us. It would take superior performances (such as Curry and Thompson had in GSW series) by a Memphis player to even have a chance of beating the Spurs in a game muchless a series.
We need to give Parker his due.....he is the best PG in the league and one of its elite players behind LeBron and Durant.

[Old School 44]

Without question Parker is one of the elite. Is he the best point guard? To me it's hard to give a player the "best" ranking because there's so many other factors to consider like teammates, coaching etc. Let me just say this, TP is the best point guard for the Spurs. I wouldn't swap him for Westbrook, Irving, Paul, Rose or anyone.

[moisaenz]

This scares me "The Spurs outscore their opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions when Parker is on the court but that drops to 2.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s off. That difference of 8.5 points per 100 possessions was more than Paul, Curry, Kyrie Irving (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6442/kyrie-irving), Rajon Rondo (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3026/rajon-rondo), Russell Westbrook (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3468/russell-westbrook) and Deron Williams (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/2798/deron-williams) this season."

Seems the offense not only is better with Parker but it depends so much on it.

[BatManu20]

Under the radar? Spurs are in the Finals.

Right obv but I mean Tony Parker. He's received more love from the media in the last week than he has all season it seems like.

[313]

This scares me "The Spurs outscore their opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions when Parker is on the court but that drops to 2.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s off. That difference of 8.5 points per 100 possessions was more than Paul, Curry, Kyrie Irving (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6442/kyrie-irving), Rajon Rondo (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3026/rajon-rondo), Russell Westbrook (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3468/russell-westbrook) and Deron Williams (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/2798/deron-williams) this season."

Seems the offense not only is better with Parker but it depends so much on it.not really news tbh the Spurs live and die with tp

[SA210]

He deserves the recognition. So long as he stays focused, I'm fine with it.

[ducks]

What's more, Parker has won 70 percent of the games he’s played in, including the playoffs, the best winning percentage among point guards during that span.

[barakz21]

Imagine how scary Parker would be if he had the athleticism of a Westbrook or DRose. That athleticism, coupled with the way he plays would probably make him unstoppable.

[Knoxxx]

TP has always known he is a bad ass so I would not worry about the attention increase. This is a Finals MVP for crying out loud, and that is the only MVP award that really matters, the ultimate pinnacle in the sport. And then he is the floor general, uh yeah him being a bad ass is not news to him in the slightest.

The other fans' perspective is an interesting one. I think we tend to focus on what goes wrong, the missed shots, turnovers. When he gets hot on the jumper we say finally! We take the fearless drives into the lane for granted because we are so used to them.

I thought about that down the stretch when he went over 30 points and kept going. What does the other team's fans think of TP? Two things come to mind: awe and hate

The awe should be obvious after he destroyed their vaunted D. The hate brings me back to guys like Kevin Johnson, relentless drivers to the hoop that always got the whistle. Thank goodness TP is on our team doing that!

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

Imagine how scary Parker would be if he had the athleticism of a Westbrook or DRose. That athleticism, coupled with the way he plays would probably make him unstoppable.
But Parker's muscle memory recovers faster than Rose's, so it evens out.

[rascal]

Parker is carrying the Spurs.

[EVAY]

In the Western Conference Finals against the Memphis Grizzlies (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mem/memphis-grizzlies), Tony Parker (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1015/tony-parker) averaged 24.5 points per game, 9.5 assists and two steals while shooting 53.2 percent from the field. That's pretty impressive, considering the Grizzlies had the second-best defense during the regular season.

Parker has also led the Spurs in scoring and assists for three consecutive seasons and five of the last eight seasons.

What's more, Parker has won 70 percent of the games he’s played in, including the playoffs, the best winning percentage among point guards during that span.

Complete article:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/58819/is-parker-the-nbas-elite-point-guard (http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/58819/is-parker-the-nbas-elite-point-guard)

Look all these media guys are desperately trying to come up with something and/or someone to write about on the teams that are left. Before this is all said and done, Aron Baynes will be the subject of articles in sports coverage and 'real-life' interest stuff.


If the media weren't writing about any of the Spurs fans would be mad because they would say that the Spurs weren't getting their due.

There have already been huge articles on Pop. Who else are they gonna write about? Normally, and historically, that would logically be Tim.
But right now? Either Tim is refusing long interviews, or any article they write on him personally is gonna bring up his divorce, and that will result in automatic rejection of whoever is the writer in question by everyone in the Spurs organization.

So you will find lots of articles about Tony (including idiotic ones about restauranteurs, etc. etc) because they HAVE TO WRITE SOMETHING!!!

Plus, he has been under the radar long enough.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Back in 2007 there was a big debate going on about best PGs in the NBA, and my take was always that TP was in the top 3 with Paul and DWill (who was awesome back then), but that actually you could make a case for TP being the best PG because he regularly owned the other two in their h2h matchups. To my mind the same argument has applied ever since. TP is the most under-rated superstar in the NBA and has been for 6 seasons now.

OTOH, I really appreciate the media and the NBA in general forgetting about him because I think that's partly what drives his intense killer instinct.

[romain.star]

It's a long time coming. Dude is always excluded from the elite point guard conversation, despite being the only one who has won multiple titles (Rondo being the only current elite PG to have one), has a Finals MVP, and now, has carried a team to the NBA Finals.

Rose is the only player I might take above Parker for the Spurs at this point, but his latest drama even makes me doubt that. Parker has cemented his spot as a All-Time Top 5 Spur. You can pick the order however you want, but he belongs in the echelon of Duncan, Robinson, Gervin, and Ginobili.

He is a top 5 Spur since 2005/06 tbh. IMO, he is now Top 3 behind TD and DRob.

[superbigtime]

Tony is an apex athlete with rare ability and maybe a few errors in his past but so what no one is flawless. Really happy for him. The media who jump on the bandwagon can suck it.

[m33p0]

if the spurs end up winning the title this year with tony being dominant, the media would have no more excuses not to call tony best point guard in the league today.

but they do have one more card to play though. they can always say he's a product of the system.

[superbigtime]

if the spurs end up winning the title this year with tony being dominant, the media would have no more excuses not to call tony best point guard in the league today.

but they do have one more card to play though. they can always say he's a product of the system.

Yes and they'll give credit to Pop. I think it's Tony who has done all the work and has the ability. The media will never give credit to Tony over non-injured Paul and Rose. It's crap.

[SA210]

Credit to Charles Barkley, he was on ESPN and said Tony Parker is the best point guard in the NBA.

[therealtruth]

TP getting redemption for '11 when Conley outplayed him. He pretty much schooled Conley this time around. I have no clue why he didn't do that in '11.

[racm]

TP getting redemption for '11 when Conley outplayed him. He pretty much schooled Conley this time around. I have no clue why he didn't do that in '11.

2011 was Manu's team and let's face it, he wasn't the linchpin of the offense yet.

[polandprzem]

He is definitely top 50

[Drom John]

He is a top 5 Spur since 2005/06 tbh. IMO, he is now Top 3 behind TD and DRob.

IMO and by WS, Parker is #4 behind Gervin.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Gotta love reading the comments in that article. There are some stupid people on this earth.

[100%duncan]

Deserves every recognition he gets.

[dylankerouac]

Nice props to TP9.

[boutons_deux]

TP is playing and leading like a Champion. not too shabby for a cheeze-eating surrender monkey.

[smrattler]

Everyone is focusing on Duncan cementing his legacy more with this ring. Duncan's legacy is already cemented in my opinion. Though he'll never admit it, I think (IMO) Parker is the one with his eyes on legacy. Adding one more ring, one more finals MVP will force people to re-evaluate this long Spurs run. If they win it, it will say Parker is the reason we got the 2007 and (hopefully) the 2013 title, and the success in between.

Spurs fans realize Parker's importance, but I think most casual fans don't give him his due. And in the future, on paper, it will look as if Duncan's greatness carried us all this time. With a 2013 title and the last two Finals MVPs (07 & 13), on paper it will be obvious.

NOT that this is what is driving him necessarily, but I think Parker's playing for his place in history. He looks to be on a mission.

[Old School 44]

Everyone is focusing on Duncan cementing his legacy more with this ring. Duncan's legacy is already cemented in my opinion. Though he'll never admit it, I think (IMO) Parker is the one with his eyes on legacy. Adding one more ring, one more finals MVP will force people to re-evaluate this long Spurs run. If they win it, it will say Parker is the reason we got the 2007 and (hopefully) the 2013 title, and the success in between.

Spurs fans realize Parker's importance, but I think most casual fans don't give him his due. And in the future, on paper, it will look as if Duncan's greatness carried us all this time. With a 2013 title and the last two Finals MVPs (07 & 13), on paper it will be obvious.

NOT that this is what is driving him necessarily, but I think Parker's playing for his place in history. He looks to be on a mission.

There's no denying the impact of Duncan on this franchise and the careers of Parker and Ginobili, but for the longest time some in the media portrayed the Spurs as Robinson and Duncan and everybody else. We've had some great teams/players over the years. Yes, Tim was the anchor for the longest time, but it works both ways. The big 3 need each other to win. It's great to see Parker getting well deserved national recognition.

[moisaenz]

Parker is not an elite guard, he has not won anything...

[tesseractive]

Parker is not an elite guard, he has not won anything...
Except multiple titles as one of the 3 best players on the team, an NBA Finals MVP, a massive number of win shares over the years, and now a trip to the finals as the guy the offense was built around.

Other than that, not a thing. :rolleyes

[Darkwaters]

I don't like all the attention he's suddenly getting though. I guess it's inevitable considering there's only 3 teams left in the playoffs and he just made the Finals. But I prefer flying under the radar.

You're not going to fly under the radar when you win your conference. For at least the next couple of weeks we'll see lots of pieces like this.

[Darkwaters]

Everyone is focusing on Duncan cementing his legacy more with this ring. Duncan's legacy is already cemented in my opinion.

Duncan could not play another minute and he'd still go down as one of the all-time greats ever. But a fifth ring would definitely propel him even further up that ladder of greatness. And it's not just because hes going from 4 to 5 rings. It's because hes doing it at age 37. And hes not a washed up has-been thats riding on the coat tails of some young studs. Hes an integral core part of this machine - without him or Parker we'd have no chance at sniffing this conference championship at all.

I do agree that another championship would go a long ways towards improving Parker's stock in the history books too though. But I think it would just be a great bookend to the Big 3-era of San Antonio in general, and would really cement their greatness, all three playing together over the last 10 years.

[Knoxxx]

if the spurs end up winning the title this year with tony being dominant, the media would have no more excuses not to call tony best point guard in the league today.

but they do have one more card to play though. they can always say he's a product of the system.

As if Spurs players pile up individual stats. Throughout the Big 3 era, it's really been the opposite of that.

[spurraider21]

I hate how this bandwagon comes up every now and then, then dies down. Last year TP was playing great, was top 5 (I believe) in MVP voting, and after beating the Clippers, was getting all this "best point guard in the league" talk. Then after losing to OKC people went back to the CP3 bandwagon and were on it most of the year. Then Parker went on a tear midseason and after destroying the likes of CP3 in Staples, was again annointed the best PG in the league and was back in MVP talks. Then he gets his injury and everybody and their mother hopped back onto the CP3 bandwagon. Curry has an unbelievable hot streak and suddenly he's a top 5 player and Tony isn't even a top 3 point guard.

Heck, some people on this forum were calling Conley the best PG left in the playoffs (had its own thread) and then after Parker wrecks the Grizzlies (and putting on a show in game 4) the people are again raving about how great and under-appreciated TP is. Getting tired of all this bandwagonry when it comes to TP.

[spursfan09]

It's a league of what have you done lately?