Tony Parker: “If Pau Gasol hadn’t been born, I’d have won more gold medals”
The former French point guard, who will enter the Hall of Fame along with the Spaniard however, is glad Pau was born. “He pushed all of us to become better.”
Tony Parker is an NBA legend who, in nine days’ time, will enter the Springfield Hall of Fame. The 41-year-old former player, who won four championship rings during his his time the NBA, joked that his international career would have been even more successful if one of his great Spanish rivals had not been on the scene.
A legendary, brotherly duo. Thank you for all the memories, @paugasol & @MarcGasol! 🙇♂️
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) August 3, 2021
𝗣𝗔𝗨 𝗚𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗟 🇪🇸
🥇 2009 2011 2015
🥈 2003 2007
🥉 2001 2017
𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗚𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗟 🇪🇸
🥇 2009 2011
🥈 2007
🥉 2013 2017
Gasol per siempre ♾ #EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/hfp4dAtRO7
“If Pau Gasol hadn’t been born, I would have won more gold medals!” Parker replied when asked about the contests between France and Spain over the years. “We’ve had a great rivalry with Spain. I always say thank you Pau for being there and pushing me and the French team to become better. If I hadn’t been born, I would have won more gold medals,” he said via a videoconference meeting with international media attended by EFE.
😅 Tony Parker se rinde a Gasol y bromea: "Si Pau Gasol no hubiese nacido...". 👇
— EFE Deportes (@EFEdeportes) August 3, 2023
👏 El base francés, en un encuentro con EFE y medios internacionales, ensalzó la figura del español.
🏀 Ambos entrarán al Salón de la Fama de la NBA. pic.twitter.com/dZDMNZstrr
Healthy competition
The Frenchman acknowledged that Spain was always “the team to beat” for having “an incredible generation with Pau, [Juan Carlos] Navarro, [Sergio] Llull and Ricky Rubio”, which he defined as “one of the best in the history of Europe”.
He confessed, “I loved playing against Spain because it made me a better player and I’ve always been fascinated by the mentality of the Spanish team, which I’ve been inspired by”.
When asked specifically about Pau Gasol, he said that he is “delighted to be able to enter the NBA Hall of Fame with him. He’s someone who I knew as a rival when he was 14 years old and also as a teammate with the San Antonio Spurs” and included him in the quintet of the best players he has ever played with.
Regarding the high level that Sergio Llull, Rudy Fernández and Ricky Rubio continue to offer, Parker commented that they are players with “a lot of passion for basketball” who continue to win titles and recalled Llull’s epic basket to win the Euroleague.