French basketball legend Tony Parker at center of historic retiring of his No. 9 jersey

SAN ANTONIO – Tony Parker, four-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs, is one of the greatest French basketball players of all time.

Following Friday’s exhibition between France and Serbia ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the French Basketball Federation paid tribute to Parker’s remarkable legacy by retiring his national team jersey.

“If I didn’t win this gold medal with France, I would have felt like I had wasted my career”

Parker’s jersey is the first to hang in the rafters of LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu, France.

The spectacle lived up to the occasion. He was surrounded by a packed arena with fireworks with Parker’s family and former teammates by his side.

“It’s a lot of emotions and a lot of love. It’s never easy when it’s the first time in history. We had Alain Gilles, Antoine Rigaudeau, Richard Dacoury — that’s the big French team family,” Parker said at his jersey retirement ceremony, according to eurohoops.net.

Parker wore No. 9 on the French national team where he was instrumental in winning four EuroBasket medals, including a bronze in 2014 and a first-ever gold in 2013 when Parker also won MVP.

“When I arrived on the French team, it was the first time I had traveled in my life. I could eat for free. It was cool. It taught me about life. I really fell in love with this jersey,” Parker said. “When we were European Junior Champions in 2000, we made a promise to each other, and I always had the feeling that if I didn’t win this gold medal with France, I would have felt like I had wasted my career. That’s why I came back every summer, to keep our promise.”

Parker’s jersey is also hanging in the rafters of Frost Bank Arena following an illustrious career with San Antonio.