Veteran point guard Tony Parker has confirmed that he is officially retiring from basketball after 18 seasons in the NBA.
"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 tweeted on Monday.
The 37-year-old played with the San Antonio Spurs until his 2018-2019 season with the Charlotte Hornets, and had already spoken to several media outlets about his intention to retire, but it was not until Monday that he made it official, reports Efe news.
The Frenchman played in 1,254 regular-season games and averaged 15.5 points, 5.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game.
He won four NBA championships with the Spurs and was part of the team's Big Three trio with guard Manu Ginobili and center Tim Duncan.
He was also named the 2007 Finals MVP, the first European in NBA history to receive the award.
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The Spurs made Parker the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft.
He was selected to the All-Star team six times and signed with the Hornets after leaving the Spurs in the 2017-18 season.
Parker is the last of the legendary Big Three to retire after Duncan bowed out in 2016, followed by Ginobili, who left the NBA at the end of the 2017-18 season. The three players, together with coach Gregg Popovich, marked an era of great success for the Spurs.
--IANS
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