Splits
06-25-2015, 12:22 AM
Tony!
For 14 NBA seasons, Tony Parker’s offseason training consisted of little more than standard basketball work — getting in shape, honing his shooting stroke, building stamina. That was good enough to become one of the league’s better point guards, a six-time All-Star and a pillar of four championship teams.Not anymore.
Having just turned 33, coming off an disappointing season in which a rare summer off from international duty did nothing to alleviate the same batch of strains and pulls that have bothered him in recent years, Parker knows he needs to step up his efforts if he is to remain effective over the twilight of his career.
Taking a page from the Book of Tim Duncan, his seemingly ageless teammate, Parker said Wednesday that, since June 1, he’s been running, lifting and even boxing under the guidance of team strength and conditioning coach Anthony Falsone.
That will carry through through late July, when Parker reports for duty with France as it attempts to defend its title at the European championship in September. NBA training camps will open shortly after, giving Parker precious little downtime. But in his mind, he’s already had more than enough vacation since the Spurs’ first-round ouster on May 2 at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I only took three weeks off,” Parker said. “Very different from last year. Because I played so much, everybody was telling me I needed to rest after we won last year. I felt like I took maybe too much off. My mentality is a lot different. I feel like I have to rebuild my body and make sure I don’t get all the little inflammations, all the little injuries I had. I’m very excited about it. I’ve been working out since June 1 so hopefully it will pay off with Le Bleus and I will be in shape when I come in camp.”
“Just being on the track, lifting with our strength coach. I do some boxing; it’s fun. I never did a fitness program like that before. I talked a lot with Pop (Gregg Popovich) and RC (Buford) about what I can do to make sure I finish my career on a high. And so they know I’m committed, and I’ll do everything I can to be in shape, like Timmy. Timmy has been great at the end of his career, changing his preparation.
“I’ll do the same thing.”
Parker skipped last year’s FIBA World Cup, a welcome respite from a grueling schedule in which he played pretty much year-round, with the Spurs and his native France, for four straight years. It mattered little as he missed 14 games, and was frequently limited physically even when available.
The biggest issue, Parker said, was a nagging hamstring issue that led to a variety of other lower-leg issues. As a result, Parker — who entered the NBA in 2001-02 at 19 — averaged just 14.4 points and 4.9 assists last season, his lowest output since the earliest years of his career. His Player Efficiency Rating also fell for a second straight campaign, from a near career-high 23.0 in 2012-13 to last year’s 15.9, barely above the league average of 15.0.
Those struggles carried into the postseason, where Parker averaged 13.0 points and shot 36.3 percent while being soundly outplayed by rival Chris Paul.
“(The hamstring) was the main problem,” Parker said. “I never had that in 14 years in the league. It was very weird, like severe. I’ve had little things. But this was severe. For almost three months it bothered me. And then it was the Achilles, and it messed up everything else. But I’m excited. You have to put it in perspective. I’ve played in the league for 14 years, and I played (with France) every summer. I’ve been very lucky. I’m not trying to complain. I feel very blessed and it just gives me a lot of motivation for this summer to come back strong.”
Parker has endured a massive workload during his career, playing more than 40,000 minutes over 1,274 games with the Spurs (1,211) and France (63). He reiterated his plans to retire from international play following the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, a gentleman’s agreement with Popovich and owner Peter Holt before signing his most recent contract extension.
But even without those extra duties, Parker would reach astronomical totals if he is to reach his goal of playing for another five or six seasons. (He’s already eighth with 203 career playoff games, and his 1,008 in the regular season are 16th among point guards, and tied for 107th overall.)
Given his age and all that mileage, a return to peak form is improbable at best. But with a more rigorous approach to his conditioning, Parker hopes to enjoy a more gradual decline — and perhaps even stave it off altogether for at least a few more years.
“I don’t really have a target,” he said of his on-court effectiveness. “I don’t look at it like that. I didn’t think I’d have a career like this when I first arrived from France. So I’m not going to try to put a target on it. I just want to be in the best shape I can, and be as strong as I can, to finish as strong as I can because I want to play for five, six more years. I love playing basketball. I’m very passionate about it. We have a great organization. I’m sure Pop and RC will do great this summer to get our team better and be in the mix again.”
For 14 NBA seasons, Tony Parker’s offseason training consisted of little more than standard basketball work — getting in shape, honing his shooting stroke, building stamina. That was good enough to become one of the league’s better point guards, a six-time All-Star and a pillar of four championship teams.Not anymore.
Having just turned 33, coming off an disappointing season in which a rare summer off from international duty did nothing to alleviate the same batch of strains and pulls that have bothered him in recent years, Parker knows he needs to step up his efforts if he is to remain effective over the twilight of his career.
Taking a page from the Book of Tim Duncan, his seemingly ageless teammate, Parker said Wednesday that, since June 1, he’s been running, lifting and even boxing under the guidance of team strength and conditioning coach Anthony Falsone.
That will carry through through late July, when Parker reports for duty with France as it attempts to defend its title at the European championship in September. NBA training camps will open shortly after, giving Parker precious little downtime. But in his mind, he’s already had more than enough vacation since the Spurs’ first-round ouster on May 2 at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I only took three weeks off,” Parker said. “Very different from last year. Because I played so much, everybody was telling me I needed to rest after we won last year. I felt like I took maybe too much off. My mentality is a lot different. I feel like I have to rebuild my body and make sure I don’t get all the little inflammations, all the little injuries I had. I’m very excited about it. I’ve been working out since June 1 so hopefully it will pay off with Le Bleus and I will be in shape when I come in camp.”
“Just being on the track, lifting with our strength coach. I do some boxing; it’s fun. I never did a fitness program like that before. I talked a lot with Pop (Gregg Popovich) and RC (Buford) about what I can do to make sure I finish my career on a high. And so they know I’m committed, and I’ll do everything I can to be in shape, like Timmy. Timmy has been great at the end of his career, changing his preparation.
“I’ll do the same thing.”
Parker skipped last year’s FIBA World Cup, a welcome respite from a grueling schedule in which he played pretty much year-round, with the Spurs and his native France, for four straight years. It mattered little as he missed 14 games, and was frequently limited physically even when available.
The biggest issue, Parker said, was a nagging hamstring issue that led to a variety of other lower-leg issues. As a result, Parker — who entered the NBA in 2001-02 at 19 — averaged just 14.4 points and 4.9 assists last season, his lowest output since the earliest years of his career. His Player Efficiency Rating also fell for a second straight campaign, from a near career-high 23.0 in 2012-13 to last year’s 15.9, barely above the league average of 15.0.
Those struggles carried into the postseason, where Parker averaged 13.0 points and shot 36.3 percent while being soundly outplayed by rival Chris Paul.
“(The hamstring) was the main problem,” Parker said. “I never had that in 14 years in the league. It was very weird, like severe. I’ve had little things. But this was severe. For almost three months it bothered me. And then it was the Achilles, and it messed up everything else. But I’m excited. You have to put it in perspective. I’ve played in the league for 14 years, and I played (with France) every summer. I’ve been very lucky. I’m not trying to complain. I feel very blessed and it just gives me a lot of motivation for this summer to come back strong.”
Parker has endured a massive workload during his career, playing more than 40,000 minutes over 1,274 games with the Spurs (1,211) and France (63). He reiterated his plans to retire from international play following the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, a gentleman’s agreement with Popovich and owner Peter Holt before signing his most recent contract extension.
But even without those extra duties, Parker would reach astronomical totals if he is to reach his goal of playing for another five or six seasons. (He’s already eighth with 203 career playoff games, and his 1,008 in the regular season are 16th among point guards, and tied for 107th overall.)
Given his age and all that mileage, a return to peak form is improbable at best. But with a more rigorous approach to his conditioning, Parker hopes to enjoy a more gradual decline — and perhaps even stave it off altogether for at least a few more years.
“I don’t really have a target,” he said of his on-court effectiveness. “I don’t look at it like that. I didn’t think I’d have a career like this when I first arrived from France. So I’m not going to try to put a target on it. I just want to be in the best shape I can, and be as strong as I can, to finish as strong as I can because I want to play for five, six more years. I love playing basketball. I’m very passionate about it. We have a great organization. I’m sure Pop and RC will do great this summer to get our team better and be in the mix again.”