If you are lucky enough to have the chance to pass some time in
the Parker’s big apartment in Boulogne-Billancourt, you run the risk of running
into a couple of members of the family. From them you learn very quickly that
the Parker family splits itself up between two worlds: basketball and high
fashion. Dutch-American, Pamela was still a renowned model (now she is a
naturopath) when she met William Tony Parker in Amsterdam. He would be father to
her three sons. That particular day she looked, with the critical eye of a
professional, at the portfolio of her niece Amélie, daughter to Anne-Marie and
Jean-Pierre Saelens.
This name, of course, immediately brings us back to
basketball. One can only imagine the influence that the later had on his godson
Tony. Jean-Pierre Staelens remains the man of 100 selections, he still holds the
mythical record (71 points scored in one game while playing for Denain against
Valenciennes in 1967). It was Staelens who was the first to discover Tony Parker
Senior in the United States, in 1978, he would later become Junior’s agent. He
died unexpectedly of a heart attack on New Years Eve 1999. Nonetheless, he
remains ever present in the Parker family.
Chance would have it: Tony
Parker Junior was born in Bruges, Belgium. That would be the cause of a recent
error made by an American announcer who introduce Tony Parker Junior as Belgian.
"When we were little, we moved all the time" explains Tony. "We followed
our father." Thanks to different contracts the Parker clan made stops in
Gravelines, Denain, Fécamp...et Rouen. It was in Rouen were the boys planted
themselves and it was in Rouen were the all made there debut in basketball.
However, it was in soccer where Tony started. "I played front-centre, I
loved scoring goals" he tells us. In the end, however, it was watching the
evolution of Michael Jordan which helped him to decide that basketball was his
sport. "In 1996, I was on vacation with my family in Chicago" Tony tells us. "My
uncle got me, my brothers, and my cousin in to see the Bulls practice. We spoke
with Scottie Pippen and we even took a picture with Jordan!" This magical moment
was immortalized and the picture is framed in his room. The "good-luck" wishes
from the "Master" remained engraved in Tony’s memory. That being said, it is,
however, his father who comes up as soon as the conversation turns to who his
role model is. "I want to follow in my fathers footsteps, but do it better" he
says. Don’t think for a second that these are the words of an oversized ego. It
isn’t the Parker family style. Tony Parker realizes his talent. He is conscious
of his ability and his prodigious progression as a player. "I have speed and
agility" he admits. "I do everything faster than the others, I learn fast. I
always played in the older division, never with guys my age. That is how a
player gets better. All of the sudden, I exploded, but at a very young age." On
the other hand, he took his time in growing vertically. Before his late growth
spurt (at 15) brought him to 1,86m, his little side had already decided his
position on the court. "I am a point guard, a key position because you are
responsible for everything. Winning or losing depends on how you perform. It is
you that calls the formations and the plays, it’s you that speeds up or slows
down, you always have the ball in your hands." This is a responsibility that he
handles perfectly. "I love being under pressure. Even the pressure put on me by
the media. That is how you outdo yourself."
