Tony Parker Sizes Up the NBA Finals, Talks Ime Udoka and His Collaboration with MTN Dew LEGEND

Four-time NBA champion Tony Parker: “If the NBA Finals makes it to Game 7, I’m hooking up fans who visit Buffalo Wild Wings on game day with a MTN DEW LEGEND, because legendary sports moments deserve to be celebrated.”

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Tony Parker's a four-time NBA champion and a Finals MVP. He knows what's required to win on the league's brightest stage, including when performing there in one's early 20s like Jayson Tatum's about to do. 

In his second year in the league, Parker, who turned 21 shortly before the 2003 Western Conference Finals, ranked second on the Spurs in playoff points and assists per game in their run to a title.

He's also quite familiar with the Celtics head coach, having played with Ime Udoka for three seasons in San Antonio. They also spent six years together while Udoka was a Spurs assistant coach, including when they avenged their 2013 NBA Finals loss, lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy a year later.

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I spoke with Parker about his perspective on this year's NBA Finals, where there's a Spurs influence on how the Celtics and Warriors operate, with Udoka and Steve Kerr applying lessons they learned from Gregg Popovich. 

We also discussed what Parker sees in Udoka that's allowed him to quickly make a considerable impact as a first-year head coach and Parker's collaboration with Mountain Dew, involving Mountain Dew Legend and Buffalo Wild Wings. Here's our discussion, edited for length, clarity, and grammar.

Krivitsky: In your second year in the league, you go to the Finals as a recently turned 21-year-old. How did you handle the days leading into it, and were you comfortable once Game 1 tipped off, or did it take time to acclimate?

Parker: I was just excited the whole time. It was just my second year in the league. I didn't even realize, to be honest. I was 21, everything was going so fast, and I was playing Jason Kidd, the best point guard in the NBA at the time, and I was just no conscience. I played great the first three games, too; I was on fire. And it was an unbelievable memory, and that first championship is always special.

Krivitsky: It also helped that, along with coach Popovich, you had leaders like David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The core of this Celtics team has played in multiple Eastern Conference Finals, but no one on their roster has gone this far. How significant is that, especially with them facing a team in the Finals for the sixth time in eight years?

Parker: I think it's going to play a role. It's got to play a role. Experience is definitely going to play in this Finals. I still think, because I think the Celtics are a very good team, they are a very good defense, I still think it's going to go to 7, but I think ultimately the Warriors will find a way to win the Finals. They have a lot of experience, and they didn't win since 2018, so they're hungry, they're playing like it, and it's an unbelievable story. What happened to them after the 2019 Finals, to come back and still be there is an unbelievable run.

Krivitsky: A theme throughout this Celtics playoff run is they make it harder on themselves than it should be, but they're resilient enough to...

Parker: No, no. They're playing great; they played great teams. The Milwaukee Bucks are no joke. They won the championship last year; Giannis is no joke. Miami, they had home-court advantage, is no joke. To (be able to) win Game 5 and Game 7 on the road, they're legit. They're a great team, and they definitely will have a chance to try to beat the Warriors. I just think in the end, that experience is going to be a big factor.

Krivitsky: For sure. And I don't want to discredit what the Celtics have done or their competition. You mentioned the pedigree of teams like the Bucks, the defending Champions. There's just, there are certain instances where it looked like they should have been able to put Milwaukee away, Game 5 at home, they let it slip, due to more mental errors than anything else, and losing those 50/50 balls. Game 6 against Miami, coming back home, a lot of people thought the series was a wrap, and again, credit the Heat as much as anything, but also, that's one the Celtics admitted they felt like a great opportunity slipped through their hands, and that stung for them.

But again, that resiliency to bounce back and get to the next round; the way your team responded in 2014, it captured why the Spurs were able to build a dynasty in the first place. But I also thought that was on display two nights after the Ray Allen shot. Game 7, it was within one or two possessions the entire fourth quarter until a Dwyane Wade free throw at the end.

Parker: It took a lot of character. It shows a lot of character from the Boston team. For me, it's unbelievable, and it shows why they're here. It's not easy to go to the Finals, and it's not easy to win the Finals; it's very hard. You're playing some great teams, and everybody wants it. And for me, it just shows a lot of character from the Celtics, the way we showed it and the way we came back in 2014 and maybe played the best basketball in our Spurs dynasty.

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I think 2014 was the best time and the best basketball we played, and all that happened because of Game 7 in 2013, so that's why everything happens for a reason. I think Boston's playing great basketball, and it's going to be an exciting Finals.

Krivitsky: And because the Finals are the brightest stage and it is a different beast, do you think Boston could overcome and bounce back as quickly from a gut-punch, or does that require championship experience?

Parker: We'll see, haha. We'll see, we'll see. All I can say is both teams are ready to go, and it's going to be a fun Finals. Both teams are legit, both teams are great defenses, both teams have great options on offense, and it's going to be fun to watch.

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Krivitsky: You played with Ime Udoka, and he was an assistant coach when you went through those Finals experiences in 2013, coming back to win the title in 2014; what are the traits that you think make him such an effective head coach?

Parker: Well first of all, he knows what he wants. He's got charisma. He was with us for a long time, so he saw what it takes every day to be great, and he was part of two teams that were really great, in my opinion, obviously. 2013, 2014 Spurs, we had great teams, and so when you see that everyday, you can only learn.

It's nice to see that he's trying to do some of the same stuff we tried to accomplish. And when you see the way they came back for Game 7, it's a lot of stuff that we did, it's very similar, the way we came back and the mental approach that you need to win those kind of games.

Krivitsky: And this matchup features the Warriors, who are generating the most points per game in the playoffs, and the Celtics, who were the top-ranked regular-season defense, they're allowing the second-fewest points per game in the postseason, despite facing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, followed by Giannis Antetokounmpo, and then Jimmy Butler, so is this series more about whose strength prevails or who plays better at the other end of the court?

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Parker: I think every game is going to be close, and I think it's going to come down to being smart in the fourth quarter and making big shots. Both teams have great shot makers, so I think it's going to come down to talent and see who's going to make the big shots.

Krivitsky: Lastly, you're a part of an exciting collaboration with Mountain Dew, involving Mountain Dew Legend and Buffalo Wild Wings. Rather than stepping on it, I figured I'd give you the floor to describe this promotion.

Parker: Well, first of all, it's a fun collaboration for me. To partner with Mountain Dew Legend, I took it as an honor, and so that's why the only thing I will say is I hope it goes to Game 7, because it will make a big connection with all the fans, because they can get a free Mountain Dew Legend at every Buffalo Wild Wings.

So I just think they've been working a lot to make sure they have a connection with our fans. And that's the main reason why I wanted to do it. I love those companies that do that, and that's why I really think it's going to go to seven, so it'll be fun times for all of our fans.