A few months ago, Tony Parker launched his own podcast series at Spotify, in which he invites a lot of close friends to talk about something other than basketball. Between Damso, Teddy Riner, Léna Situations, Thierry Henry or even Boris Diaw, the GOAT of French basketball continues discussions around life in general. The opportunity of the day, for his birthday, to put all this forward.
Let’s say that with TP, we have seen everything, and known everything.
His career in the French team, his career with the Spurs, his musical career, his career as a manager, we were able to follow everything very closely when we talk about Tony, because there was no shortage of content. Documentaries, series, radio appearances, articles, magazines, TV shows and so on, Parker has become the most famous name in France when it comes to basketball. But then why start your own podcast? And what can Tony and his guests tell us when they sit around a microphone? This is precisely the whole plot of this series, in which we can find both the former leader of San Antonio and his side-kicks.
For this great occasion, that of Tony’s 40th birthday, we wanted to offer you the exchange that took place between Parker and your host, shortly after the launch of his podcast.
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Hi Tony. We had the opportunity to follow your entire career with reports, interviews, content, we had it in every way. My first question is this: what hasn’t already been told about you that you can tell in this series of podcasts?
I think I can go deeper into some topics, let’s say that. These are discussions and conversations where you open up a little more, and it works in this format, that of podcasts. I have quite a few friends and members of my family who have said to me: “oh, I didn’t think you would go so deep into certain subjects! So that was a different way of telling my experience.
For basketball fans and basketball players in general, there is bound to be a part of them who will expect basketball content… but that’s not what you want to highlight if I well understood ?
No indeed, we don’t talk too much about basketball in this podcast. We talk more about life in general, about mental health. We talk about how to deal with certain situations, how to deal with ups and downs. We talk about family, we talk about children, we talk about how to be a parent… It’s true that we don’t talk too much about sport, even if the subject will come up at times in the conversation, that’s not the goal. of these podcasts.
When we saw each other the last time, you spoke to us about two people who had an important role in the preparation of your post-career: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Can you tell us what advice they gave you?
The most important piece of advice from Magic was to answer the phone to make contact during your career. Because when you’re retired it’s like people don’t call you anymore, or they don’t answer the phone anymore. So he advised me to take the time and use this opportunity, during my career, to be able to talk to anyone and have access. It was important for me to use that, and so for me that’s the biggest piece of advice Magic has given me.
So I have a few questions for you, but in a slightly different format. In fact, I would like to ask you a couple of things, but you have to know that I am a 7 year old child. So in your way of answering, you will have to take that into account! Are you ready ?
Let’s go.
Tony, I don’t understand, why does French basketball look sick?
(laughs) We still have a long way to go for French basketball. Do I have to respond to a 7-year-old child?
Yeah.
You want to get me in trouble.
Not too much! You can even use a joker if you want.
I think the most important thing is that we are a sporting nation. And that in France, we continue to put sport in school. Let us realize that it is important to play sports. And that if we are a sporting nation, of course sport will be on television. And it’s not just basketball, there are other sports that also deserve to be publicized.
Tony, I don’t understand, what’s the difference between doing radio and doing podcasts?
Well the radio is live, you talk about what’s going on right now, you talk about the news. While a podcast you can go deeper, you can talk about any topic, and it usually lasts longer because you can take as long as you want on a podcast. The radio you will necessarily be limited in time.
Tony, I don’t understand, with a friend I typed your name on Spotify and I came across a rap album?
Yes it’s normal. At the time I was young and I wanted to do something else, I am a curious person who likes to take on challenges. So I had made this album at the time.
Tony, I don’t understand, why did you play with France when you have an American dad, a Dutch mom and you were born in Belgium?
It’s because I grew up in France. And so when I was 14, the basketball federation in France asked me if I was interested in taking French nationality to play with the France team. And so as Belgium, Holland and the United States did not call me, I joined France.
Tony, my uncle the other day at the table he told me that the greatest happiness that exists on Earth is to beat the Spaniards in basketball, is it true?
I think the greatest happiness would have been to beat the United States. But Spain is not that far away.
Tony, there’s a friend at school who told me you weren’t among the 75 best players in NBA history when TrashTalk they put you in it… but why aren’t you?
Well…I don’t know. That’s a very good question. But anyway, personally, I think that I much prefer my career to that of certain players who are in the Top 75. For me the most important thing was to win titles, it was to mark the history of my sport, and I think that’s what we managed to do with Spurs.
Tony, do you remember where you were when you found out about your boyfriend Kobe?
I was in San Antonio. And it’s true that it was a very difficult moment, for me and for the world of basketball. For the world in general in fact, because it had a real impact all over the world. And it’s never nice to hear news like that.
Tony, was basketball better before or is it better now?
For me it’s two different things, it’s not comparable. It’s part of evolution, everything evolves in life and basketball evolves too. Basketball today is not the same basketball as when I played, but I personally like both.
Tony, my brother says the best is LeBron and my dad says the best is Jordan, but I don’t know who is the best.
For me it’s Jordan.
Finally, Tony, you promise me that you’ll kiss the old gentleman with the white hair who was training you in San Antonio when you see him again?
Ah well, you’ve already seen it, you know who it is…
If you had to sum up your thoughts in a message around this podcast, what would you say?
I would just say that I would like to inspire the next generation.
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Intrigued? Curious ? You know where to go. Direction Spotify to listen to the first episodes of Tony Parker’s podcasts, with distinguished guests and some beautiful moments of intimacy. While waiting for new stories, which will certainly be brought by the ongoing post-career of TP.
