Tony Parker appreciation/farewell thread

[BillMc]

best Spur guard of all time

This.

[BillMc]

Very hard to rank PG in my opinion. They are such a part of the team they play on. It is hard to separate a player like Stockton or Nash from their team. Also they have different strengths. One thing about Parker is he did pretty well head to head in the playoffs against both Nash and CP3 who are always ranked ahead of him.

Stockton was better than Nash. John was an excellent defensive player, Nash a sieve. Stockton made two finals, Nash 0. Even on offense, Stockton is the all time assist man, while much of Nash's fame came from the inflated D'Antoni system. Truthfully, Tony was probably better than Nash too, but they were so different as players (as you say) its hard to compare them.

[szkorhetz]

Stockton was better than Nash. John was an excellent defensive player, Nash a sieve. Stockton made two finals, Nash 0. Even on offense, Stockton is the all time assist man, while much of Nash's fame came from the inflated D'Antoni system. Truthfully, Tony was probably better than Nash too, but they were so different as players (as you say) its hard to compare them.

I would put Nash above Tony anywhere, anytime.

[Play Boban]

Porker is better than the other three worthless pos pgs on this roster.

[HarlemHeat37]

what's your rank from 1 to 12 ?

Tough to rank in actual order across eras, I just thought of 12ish that I'd have above the rest..

Tier 1: Magic(obvious)

Tier 2: Curry(by far the most feared individual PG and had the greatest season ever for a PG in 2015-16)

Tier 3: Paul, Stockton, Nash(Nash is the clear 3rd here since you could argue that his system benefited him greatly)

Tier 4: Kidd, Payton, Westbrook(all 3 are somewhat overrated)

Tier 5: Thomas, Parker, Billups(Thomas is the most overrated PG of the modern era, while both Parker and Billups are underrated)

It's tough with TP, because he has outplayed guys like Paul and Nash in series' but he doesn't have the individual accolades to compare resumes..

[Brazil]

Tough to rank in actual order across eras, I just thought of 12ish that I'd have above the rest..

Tier 1: Magic(obvious)

Tier 2: Curry(by far the most feared individual PG and had the greatest season ever for a PG in 2015-16)

Tier 3: Paul, Stockton, Nash(Nash is the clear 3rd here since you could argue that his system benefited him greatly)

Tier 4: Kidd, Payton, Westbrook(all 3 are somewhat overrated)

Tier 5: Thomas, Parker, Billups(Thomas is the most overrated PG of the modern era, while both Parker and Billups are underrated)

It's tough with TP, because he has outplayed guys like Paul and Nash in series' but he doesn't have the individual accolades to compare resumes..

I don't see Kidd as overrated, I actually think he had periods where he was overrated (his new jersey years) but underrated later in his career especially during dat Dallas ring.

Agree on Billups, Parker being underrated, Billups played for defensive squads (I would have loved seeing him in a Dantoni system) and Parker individual stats suffered in dat Spurs system but dat Spurs system and Tim gave him the harware.

Parker also had kept pace with Westbrook in dat Spurs OKC match ups.

[pad300]

Tough to rank in actual order across eras, I just thought of 12ish that I'd have above the rest..

Tier 1: Magic(obvious)

Tier 2: Curry(by far the most feared individual PG and had the greatest season ever for a PG in 2015-16)

Tier 3: Paul, Stockton, Nash(Nash is the clear 3rd here since you could argue that his system benefited him greatly)

Tier 4: Kidd, Payton, Westbrook(all 3 are somewhat overrated)

Tier 5: Thomas, Parker, Billups(Thomas is the most overrated PG of the modern era, while both Parker and Billups are underrated)

It's tough with TP, because he has outplayed guys like Paul and Nash in series' but he doesn't have the individual accolades to compare resumes..

No Monroe, Cousy, Oscar, Frazier? Clearly, no respect for the old guys...

[koriwhat]

i'd like tony to retire a spur but not at his current salary nor mins. if not, buh bye.

[gambit1990]

I would put Nash above Tony anywhere, anytime.

yep, easily.

[daslicer]

Parker is underrated around here. Younger fans who didn't see him in his youth don't appreciate just how fast he was. In his youth he was almost always the fastest player on the court. The ability to drive to the basket and break down defenses set up the Spurs offense and spacing. In 2003 he was too raw and needed help, but still effective in stretches. By 2005 he was good enough to go head to head with Steve Nash and Chauncy Billups. He had many good seasons and was very durable, shooting a high fg% throughout his career. He finished top 10 in MVP voting many times. He improved his jump shot. Even in the 2014 championship playoff run he was the leading scorer. I don't want to get into the argument over Parker vs Ginobili.

A lot of the young fans in here who are below 30 don't know how bad and demoralizing the '01 Lakers sweep was of the Spurs. I would say the best comparison is the recent sweep Lebron did of the Raptors. It was pretty bad and at the time it looked like the Spurs would never be able to beat the Lakers. What made matters worse the Spurs lost Derick Anderson that summer and acquired an old over the hill Steve Smith. Outside of Duncan having an MVP year watching Parker as rookie was one of the bright spots of the '01-'02 season. Seeing the way he played gave me hope the Spurs could eventually overcome the Lakers.

Parker gets a lot of hate in here for not being consistent during the playoffs. Usually what happened in the series where he was inconsistent is that he would burn the opposing team's PG and they would then switch a SG or an SF on him for the rest of the series. This happened with the Nets in '03 when they switched Kittles on Parker and the Thunder in '12 when they switched Thabo on Parker. 1 on 1 Parker could not be guarded by a PG during his prime.

[cd98]

Tough to rank in actual order across eras, I just thought of 12ish that I'd have above the rest..

Tier 1: Magic(obvious)

Tier 2: Curry(by far the most feared individual PG and had the greatest season ever for a PG in 2015-16)

Tier 3: Paul, Stockton, Nash(Nash is the clear 3rd here since you could argue that his system benefited him greatly)

Tier 4: Kidd, Payton, Westbrook(all 3 are somewhat overrated)

Tier 5: Thomas, Parker, Billups(Thomas is the most overrated PG of the modern era, while both Parker and Billups are underrated)

It's tough with TP, because he has outplayed guys like Paul and Nash in series' but he doesn't have the individual accolades to compare resumes..

Curry isn't a great point guard, he's a great shooter. If you took away the three point line, he'd be a below average guard.

Magic and Stockton are the two best in terms of true point guards. I'd probably also include Kidd in that group with Paul knocking at the door. The rest of the group is a tier below and include Nash (defense has to lower him above the top group), Payton, Westbrook, Parker, Billups, Kevin Johson, Isaiah Thomas (Detroit).

[SpursDynasty85]

Let's be honest. Every player wants money. Shouldn't blame TP for that. Parker just wants to contribute to a championship team. He did come back from injury. I'm sure he feels he can improve on last season purely because of that fact and play minutes. Let's not forget TP has a heart of a real championship compe or. It will be interesting to see what kind of contract he gets this season. He will definitely sign for a little above vet. min. with a team.

[ElNono]

Goodbye Tony! Thanks!

damn

I guess I wasn't that far off, tbh...

[Galileo]

Hail to Tony. A great hall-of-fame player. A great sportsman. We will miss you.

[Galileo]

It is pathetic there is not more positive response on this thread, after all the greatness Tony has provided over the past 17 years. Just pathetic. I call foul!

[Kori Ellis]

It is pathetic there is not more positive response on this thread, after all the greatness Tony has provided over the past 17 years. Just pathetic. I call foul!

Here's another appreciation thread for Tony: http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274702

[kaji157]

Tony has been a great player for us and for basketball in general. With Manu the both of them broke the mold of international players and were the backbone of the franchise along with TD.
The only thing to criticize him was not being able to stay effective after a very serious injury.
But then again it was late in his career.
Much respects.

[Galileo]

Here's another appreciation thread for Tony: http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274702

Thank you.