Inside The Spurs

Throwback Thursday: Spurs Icon Tony Parker Leads France to EuroBasket Title

Parker was the tournament's MVP in 2013.

Jeremy Brener

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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EuroBasket 2022 tips off today, and while there are no San Antonio Spurs representing their country in the tournament, that wasn't always the case.

Spurs icon Tony Parker played a massive role for the French National Team from 2001-15, leading his country in eight tournaments ... but none were more important than his penultimate showing in 2013.

France lost its opening match to Germany, but cruised to four straight wins, the top spot in their group and a trip to the knockout stage. Parker was crucial in every victory, all but double digits apart from a six-point win against Ukraine. Parker scored a game-high 28 to beat Ukraine and 20 in the following game against Belgium.

In the quarterfinals, Parker continued his dominance, scoring 27 points in a 72-62 quarterfinal victory over Slovenia to advance to the semifinals against Spain.

Parker kicked it up another notch in the quarterfinals, scoring 32 points in an overtime win against the Spaniards to advance to his first EuroBasket Final. During the game, he became the second-leading scorer in EuroBasket history.

In the final against Lithuania, France powered through a 31-12 run in the second quarter to beat them by single digits and win France's first EuroBasket title.

Parker led all scorers in the tournament, averaging 19 points per game en route to the title. This came just months after the Spurs lost to the Miami Heat in the 2013 NBA Finals, but Parker was able to parlay his success into the following season, and in 2014, the Spurs won their fifth NBA championship as a franchise ... the fourth in Parker's career.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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