Born in Belgium, May 17 1982

May 17, 1982

Parker was born in Bruges, Belgium, but raised in France. His father, Tony Parker Sr., an African-American, played basketball at Loyola University Chicago, as well as professionally overseas. His mother, Pamela Firestone, was a Dutch model. Parker enjoyed close relationships with his brothers and they would often attend their father's basketball games together. At first, Parker was more interested in soccer, but after watching the evolution of Michael Jordan into a global basketball superstar, he changed his mind. Moreover, Parker's two younger brothers were also heavily involved in basketball; T.J. and Pierre would go on to play basketball at professional and college levels respectively. As Parker built his skill, his lack of size (notwithstanding a growth spurt at 15) decided his position on-court. He played the point guard position, recognizing that his speed and agility made this station ideal for him. He was eventually talent-spotted and asked to attend the National Institute for Sports and Physical Education in Paris.After playing in the French minors for two seasons, Parker turned professional and signed with Paris Basket Racing in 1999.

In the summer of 2000, Parker was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit in Indianapolis. There, in front of professional scouts and college coaches, he competed against the likes of future NBA players Darius Miles, Zach Randolph and Omar Cook. In a contest between the American and European All-Stars, Parker recorded 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.[9] The Frenchman's performance prompted a recruiting war between several colleges, including UCLA and Georgia Tech who were on the verge of persuading Parker to join them. However, Parker decided to forgo the NCAA and remain in France; he spent the next two years with Racing in the French championship before entering the 2001 NBA Draft.

MVP ijn French Basketball

January 1, 2000

Parker played for France's Junior National Team in the European Junior Championships in both 1998 and 2000. He was elected Most Valuable Player of the 2000 tournament when France captured the championship, recording 25.8 ppg, 6.8 apg and 6.8 spg. With the senior team, Parker has played in the 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 European Championships. France won the bronze medal in the 2005 Championships, defeating the Spanish team 98–68. The captain of the national team since 2003, Parker was slated to lead France in the 2006 World Championships, but was unable to play after breaking a finger when he caught his hand in the jersey of a Brazil player in France's final warmup for the Worlds.[26] During Eurobasket 2007, Parker averaged 22.2 ppg and 3.0 apg in the first five games of the tournament, but France were defeated in the quarter-finals by Russia.

Drafted by the Spurs

June 27, 2001 - Now

Prior to the 2001 NBA Draft, Parker was invited to the San Antonio Spurs summer camp. Parker's first experiences were daunting as coach Gregg Popovich had him play against Spurs scout and ex-NBA-player Lance Blanks. Parker was so overwhelmed by Blank's tough and physical defense that Popovic was ready to send him away after just 10 minutes. But after seeing a "best of" mix tape of Parker's best plays, Popovich decided to invite Parker a second time.[9] This time, Parker made a better impression against Blanks; the Frenchman later described Blanks as a "one-man wrecking crew". But while Popovich decided that Parker was worth the gamble, the Spurs still had to hope that other teams would not pick Parker during the draft. As it were, Parker's name was barely mentioned in the pre-draft predictions and the point guard was drafted 28th overall by the Spurs on draft day.
The 2001 NBA Draft took place on 27 June 2001 in New York City, New York.

Taylor Plays All 82 Games in Sophomore Season

January 1, 2002

Playing backup to Antonio Daniels, Parker made 77 regular season appearances in his rookie season, averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game. When he played against the Los Angeles Clippers on November 30, 2001, he became the third French player ever to play in an NBA game, after Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Jerome Moiso. Parker brought to the Spurs a greater tempo in their game, getting his teammates better looks at the basket whenever he was involved in transition offense. He could also hit open jump shots, and this created greater space for the big men on the team, Tim Duncan and David Robinson. He played in all 82 regular season games as San Antonio's starting point guard in a team that was largely revamped from previous years.

A Knight in France's Légion d'honneur

January 1, 2007

Inducted into the Legion of Honor with the rank of Chevalier - 2007

San Antonio All-Star Shooter in 2006

Feburary 17, 2007

Member of the 2006 San Antonio All-Star Shooting Stars team. He sealed the victory by making the half-court shot on his first attempt, setting an All-Star Shooting Star record time of 25.1 seconds.

He was joined on the team by retired Spur Steve Kerr, and Kendra Wecker from the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA

Releases Hip-Hop Album, "Top of the Game"

March 1, 2007

Parker is an avid fan of hip-hop music and rap. He has released a French hip-hop album with producer Polygrafic (Sound Scientists). The first single from the album Top of the Game, featuring rapper Fabolous and Booba, was released in March 2007. The accompanying video features Spurs teammates Robert Horry, Tim Duncan and Brent Barry, as well as former teammate Nazr Mohammed.He also made a video for another song off his album called "Balance-toi", which features Eva Longoria.

Parker was also involved in the Paris bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. His reaction to London's successful bid was: "I don't know what else we could have done. If we don't have it now, I guess we will never get it. The IOC seems to be very pro-Anglo-Saxon. I feel extremely gutted.

Marries "Desperate Housewife" Eva Longoria

July 7, 2007

Parker is married to actress Eva Longoria, who is seven years his senior. After announcing their engagement on 30 November 2006, they were wed in France on July 7, 2007. Parker quoted during the 2007 NBA All-Star Game that "Eva is doing everything, I'm just going to show up and say yes." Longoria, a Texas native from nearby Corpus Christi, is a courtside regular at Spurs home games. The civil ceremony was followed by a full Roman Catholic wedding ceremony at the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois Church in Paris, France.