SKWEEK (DR)

Selected at the end of the first round in 2001, Tony Parker subsequently proved that he deserved to be higher in that vintage. Questioned about the 2024 vintage by the First Team , the former French point guard did not mince his words.

The best proof of the evolution of French basketball remains the draft, especially over the last two years.

We have just witnessed two first picks from France in Victor Wembanyama and Zaccharie Risacher, and no less than five French players have appeared in the Top 10 between 2023 and 2024. Not to mention the young Nolan Traoré who could follow the same path in 2025, while he is already projected in the Top 5.

The least we can say is that this omnipresence among the highest picks is a complete contrast to what the French have known for many years.

Before Killian Hayes came to equal him, Joakim Noah was the record holder with his 8th place in the 2007 draft.

But apart from him, almost everyone found themselves at the end of the first round like Evan Fournier, Rudy Gobert… and even Tony Parker.

TP drafted in 2024? The Frenchman’s straightforward opinion

Because if the latter has become a living legend of the Spurs, he was only chosen in 29th position by the Texans, in 2001.

At that time, point guards and especially those from abroad were not yet as popular and this type of profile mainly represented gambles for the franchises.

Invited to the First Team recently, the four-time NBA champion did not hesitate when imagining his draft today:

I think I would be Top 3. After that, it depends on the team that chooses first because it might be a team that doesn’t need a point guard. But I would say that compared to the stats that I had, where I finished second at the time on the podium of the MVP of the season (regular) and I was at 15 points and 6 assists per game… I think I would have been Top 3, I think.

Having inspired many superstar guards after him like Chris Paul or Kyrie Irving, TP has some arguments on his side.

On the one hand, his profile as a scoring point guard is much more appreciated in the current era than it was in the 2000s, where position 1 often meant distributing the ball above all else.

And yet, the 2013 European champion had shown that he could do it in San Antonio.

Then, the fact is that international players today enjoy a much better rating and are much more observed by NBA scouts.

Suffice to say that Parker’s talent would have been detected much more easily in the 2020s and there is therefore reason to believe that he would not have waited until the end of the first round for a franchise to get its hands on him. On the other hand, he might not have had the same career…

Tony Parker is convinced that he could have finished on the podium of the draft in 2024. One thing is certain, he is largely on that of his in 2001, even fighting for the first place with Pau Gasol. Not bad at all, given that 28 franchises had passed on him at his time…