Inside The Spurs

'Tony Parker Was Getting Cooked': Stephen Jackson Shades Ex Spurs Teammate

Stephen Jackson criticized Tony Parker for his performance during the San Antonio Spurs' playoff run in 2003.

Jeremy Brener

Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
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The 2003 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs are celebrating two decades since their title run.

The Spurs entered the playoffs as the league's best team with 60 wins, dismantling the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets en route to the franchise's second title in five years.

However, it wasn't all smooth sailing, as noted by Stephen Jackson in a recent appearance of "Ticket & The Truth" on Showtime.

"Tony Parker was getting cooked by every point guard that year," Jackson said via Showtime. "Speedy Claxton saved us. I don't know why they don't talk about Speedy Claxton and give him his props bro. Tony Parker was near the bench every fourth quarter because Steph [Stephon Marbury] was frying him. Jason Kidd was frying him."

Parker, just a second-year pro at the time, averaged 15.5 points in the regular season to go with 5.3 assists, but his numbers dipped in several categories come playoff time.

Jackson's feud with Parker isn't new. The beef has been lasting for years, and Jackson has previously called Parker "one of the most selfish players" he has ever played with.

“I know the type of person Tony is,” Jackson said on the All The Smoke podcast earlier this year. “Great player, going to go down in the Hall of Fame. But he’s very selfish. He’s been selfish. We would have had more championships and more success if it wasn’t for him being so selfish."

Despite how they feel about one another and how they may have performed individually in the postseason, both Jackson and Parker will go down in Spurs history together as key pieces to the 2003 championship team.

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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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