Tony Parker is walking away from basketball after 18 seasons in the NBA.
The 37-year-old San Antonio Spurs player confirmed his decision to ESPN’s The Undefeated in an article published on Monday, also tweeting, “It’s with a lot of emotion that I retire from basketball, it was an incredible journey! Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would live all those unbelievable moments with the NBA and the French National Team. Thank you for everything!”
Parker — who was previously married to Eva Longoria — said a “lot of different stuff ultimately led me to this decision.”
He told The Undefeated, “At the end of the day, I was like, if I can’t be Tony Parker anymore and I can’t play for a championship, I don’t want to play basketball anymore.”
The athlete will continue to live in San Antonio, Texas, he said, but will also spend time in France, where he owns and serves as president of ASVEL — a professional men’s and women’s basketball club.
Additionally, he told The Undefeated, he’ll open an international school in Lyon, France, called the Tony Parker Adequat Academy.
Asked what he’ll miss the most about professional basketball, Parker stated, simply, “Winning.”
“It never gets old, and so that’s why it was nice to win with my women’s team, because winning championships is hard to explain to somebody how you feel,” shared Parker. “As a player, it was great to win championship, and now as an owner, when you build from scratch everything, I’m happier for them. It’s priceless to see their faces. But it never gets old. Winning championships never gets old.”
And now that he’s got more free time, Parker is looking forward to doing “a lot of stuff.”
“I think one of the first things: ski. I want to ski,” Parker told the outlet.
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