'Tony Parker: The Final Shot': Meet the NBA legend who led San Antonio Spurs to success in Netflix documentary
Last year, Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls became the cynosure of all eyes across the world with ESPN and Netflix's riveting sports docuseries, 'The Last Dance'. The success spawned more basketball documentaries over the next few months and come January 6, Netflix will present the life and times of another famed NBA legend, Tony Parker, the San Antonio Spurs man who was instrumental in the team's NBA Championship-winning runs between 2003 and 2014.
By the time he hung up his basketball sneakers in 2019, Parker had stacked up 19,473 points (15.5 PPG), 3,396 rebounds (2.7 RPG, and 7,036 (5.6 APG), and had a list of achievements that included:
(i) 4× NBA champion (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014)
(ii) NBA Finals MVP (2007)
(iii) 6× NBA All-Star (2006, 2007, 2009, 2012–2014)
(iv) 3× All-NBA Second Team (2012–2014)
(v) All-NBA Third Team (2009)
(vi) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2002)
(vii) FIBA EuroBasket MVP (2013)
And that wasn't all as Parker also represented France in 2013. He was named the MVP of EuroBasket 2013, following his team's victory over Lithuania in the final, and two years later, he established himself as the leading scorer in the EuroBasket competition, a record that was eventually broken by Pau Gasol. Although Parker was more of a soccer man at first, he grew up watching Jordan's exploits that made him a global rockstar. This spurred Parker to play a completely different sport.
It wasn't the brightest of starts for Parker when he was trying out for the Spurs. When coach Greg Popovich tested the Frenchman's mettle against Spurs scout and ex-NBA player Lance Blanks, it was a rather average performance that Parker doled out leading Popovich to reconsider. But a second look at his impressive mixtape saw him receive another chance that saw him fare a lot better.
Parker was eventually lapped up by San Antonio. With him in the side and his evolution by season, the Spurs won four times—2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. Parker played his final season with the Charlotte Hornets before calling curtains on an impressive career.
As far as his personal life goes, he was married to actress Eva Longoria. They tied the knot in 2007 and split with the divorce being finalized in 2011. He went on to dating French journalist Axelle Francine in 2011 and married her in 2014. However, the couple split in 2020. Parker is also well-known in the music industry after he released a French hip-hop album, 'TP' that featured collaborations with Booba, Don Choa, Eloquence, Eddie B, Jamie Foxx, K-Reen, Rickwel and Soprano.
According to Netflix, the official synopsis reads: "How do you become one of the greatest players in French basketball? 'The Final Shot', a retrospective documentary of Tony Parker’s career, with interviews of Kobe Bryant, Thierry Henry, David Robinson, and many others."
'Tony Parker: The Final Shot' premieres on January 6, 2021, on Netflix.
