wien forest

He was Tony Parker’s first NBA mentor. A man who saw a 19-year-old basketball prodigy arrive from the French basketball league full of potential and lightening quick moves. The year was 2001 and the Belgium-born point guard who was drafted 28 th overall by the San Antonio Spurs was eager to make his mark. Terry Porter, a veteran of 17 NBA seasons and one of the most successful point guards of his era, was then in the twilight of his career. The 38-year-old took the 19-year-old under his wing, showed him the NBA ropes before retiring following the 2001-02 season. Now as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Porter is three and a half years removed from that first meeting in Spurs training camp and reflects in admiration on Parker’s development into one of the NBA’s premier point guards.

“As the years have gone on, his confidence obviously has gotten higher, and I think that’s the biggest thing,” Porter said. “He’s built the confidence from his teammates, the trust and respect from his teammates that he’s going to do the right thing.

“His game itself has grown, also, because of his ability to make shots now. He struggled in that area. Most point guards struggle coming in, not many come in with a fine-tuned jump shot. You just don’t see that, especially a guy like him who was basically coming out of high school, 18, 19 years old. So there was a lot of growth in that area that he needed, and he’s obviously improved tremendously.”

So much so that many, including Parker himself, thought first-time All-Star honors would be bestowed upon a player who is enjoying a career season in points (16.6), assists (6.1) and shooting percentage (.488%) while piloting the Spurs to one of the best records in the NBA.

“Definitely, I think I am an All-Star,” said Parker, who would have been the first French player to receive such an honor. “It would have meant so much to basketball in France if I had been on the team. But I am young, and a lot of other guys didn’t make it, either. I have time.”

Count Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy as one of the coaches who did vote for Parker.

“I voted for him for the All-Star team,” said Van Gundy. “I was shocked he didn’t make it. I don’t know how that guy doesn’t make it. Parker is on the team with the best record, so I just don’t know how. I think he is really, really, really good.”

Thrust into duty his rookie season ahead of veterans Antonio Daniels and Porter, Parker made a seamless transition playing against NBA veteran competition, thanks to his extensive international league experience. Parker spent four seasons in the French League, including two with Centre Federal and averaged 22.1 points in only his second season at age 16. At 17, he found himself playing for Paris Racing, in the first division, and in only his second season he was starting.

“Playing professionally helped me mature faster,” said Parker. “I was playing with guys who were 30 years old and had families. I had to grow up fast and learn how to handle myself. I also had to learn to get respect.”

Parker enjoyed a breakout campaign in only his second season when he helped lead the Spurs to the 2003 NBA championship. Leading the team in assists, Parker finished second to Tim Duncan in scoring and opened a lot of eyes with his stellar play against All-NBA point guard Jason Kidd in the Finals.

Yet the maturation and development continues for a player who has led his team to more regular-season victories the last three seasons than any floor general in the NBA. The Spurs are no longer solely reliant on Tim Duncan to save the day down the stretch in games. Manu Ginoboli, who earned first-time All-Star honors this season and newly acquired Brent Barry have stepped up. So has Parker, whom Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich entrusts with the basketball with the game on the line.

“I’m 10,000 times more comfortable with the ball in [Parker’s] hands late than I was a couple of years ago,” said Popovich. “He understands situations much better and sees people much better on the court. No matter what play we call, he reads things and sees other things on the court that might not be there when with the play we called, which he would have seen a couple of years ago.”

Despite the vote of confidence from his head coach, Parker remains his toughest critic.

“I think I’m coming a long way since my rookie year,” said Parker. “I’ve established myself as a starting point guard, and now getting closer and closer to the All-Star Game and feeling close to the best point guard in the league. I believe in myself I am one of the best point guards and I can compete against the best on any given night. But I still think I’ve got a lot of improvement to do in my game. My outside shot can be a lot better; my three-point shot can be more consistent; and my free throws, obviously I need to improve. And leadership-wise, I still can improve, and the more I’m going to know our guys, and the more we’re going to play big games, I’m going to establish myself as a real point guard, to be the Little General out there.”

Off the court, the Spurs’ Little General has found a touch of France in the Alamo City.

“We’ve got some good French restaurants here,” Parker said. “Bistro Vatel is very, very good. That reminds me of France. Besides the food, there, though, not much reminds me of France here.

“But I’m not so much homesick. I’ve got my buddies who come and visit all the time, and in the summer I’m in France all the time. I enjoy my life here in San Antonio during the season, and in the summer I am back in France.

“I am very easy. As a basketball player you always travel anyway. And San Antonio has become more home to me now.”