If you were born in the 80s and interested in basketball, there’s a high chance you grew up watching and admiring Michael Jordan. This was certainly the case for Spurs legend Tony Parker, who appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast to talk about his Hall of Fame career. While discussing his upbringing in France, Parker explained how his father’s heritage led to him becoming a fan of Jordan.
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Parker explained to his hosts that his father, Tony Parker Sr., was a Chicago native, and a professional ball player himself. His American roots led to Parker being drawn towards basketball, and that’s how he came to admire Jordan and the Bulls. He credited Jordan’s 1991 Finals victory over Magic Johnson and the Lakers as the main reason he started playing basketball.
“My dad was from Chicago, I was a huge Bulls fan, huge Michael Jordan fan growing up. That was at the time when you know, Michael played Magic in ’91… I played soccer from 6 to 9 years old, and then when I saw the NBA finals with Magic and Jordan, I decided to switch sports.”
Just after that, Jordan and the Dream Team took the world by surprise. They dominated their opponents, winning each game by an average of 44 points. For Parker, the Olympics represented an even more important time. It was the first time he got to see his idol play live.
He explained to Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson that he was in Monaco when Team USA played France in a preseason game. He recalled his excitement to go see France play the USA. He told his hosts that despite his country losing by 50, he had fond memories of the game because he finally got to see Jordan play in person.
“They played a preseason game in Monaco. And so I went to see France against US, they lost by 50 but that was my first time seeing Michael Jordan play.”
Tony Parker was shaking when he finally met Michael Jordan
Parker went on to reveal that his father organized a meet and greet in 1996 when the Parkers went to Chicago for the holidays. Of course, Jordan had just returned to his basketball career that year, and the Bulls were having a historic season.
He told his hosts that he met Jordan when he was 14 years of age, and was so in awe of the legendary guard that he “didn’t say anything” when he met him. He credited that meeting as the first time he realized he wanted to pursue a career in the sport.
“I was able to meet him, I didn’t day anything, I was like shaking you know. I was just so happy and it gave me that motivation that that’s what I wanted to do when I grow up, I wanted to play in the NBA.”
Parker did make it into the NBA, getting drafted 28th overall in 2001. He played his idol twice in the league, with them each splitting a win. After a legendary 18-year career, Tony Parker eventually ended up playing for the Hornets, the team that his hero was an owner of.
