{"id":24,"date":"2008-11-06T11:59:37","date_gmt":"2008-11-06T15:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=24"},"modified":"2008-11-06T11:59:37","modified_gmt":"2008-11-06T15:59:37","slug":"french-basketball-player-tony-parker-and-his-american-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-basketball-player-tony-parker-and-his-american-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"French Basketball Player Tony Parker and His American Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

For anyone who follows sports, especially basketball, you\u00a0hear a lot about Tony Parker<\/a>, the NBA’s two-time All Star from France who is currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs.\u00a0 Now, although Tony grew up in France after moving there when he was just three weeks old and is a member of the French national basketball team, he was actually born in Belgium on May 17, 1982, and to an American father and a Dutch mother.\u00a0 His father, Tony Parker Sr.,\u00a0was a Loyola University Chicago basketball player\u00a0who moved to Rouen when Tony was a baby to\u00a0play for\u00a0that city’s professional team.\u00a0 True to his French roots, Tony was initially more interested in soccer until he became a huge fan of Michael Jordan.\u00a0 He attended the prestigious French government-run\u00a0Institut National du Sport<\/a>\u00a0(National Institute for Sports and Physical Education) in Paris.\u00a0 In spite of aggressive recruiting attempts by various NCAA schools, Parker remained in France.\u00a0 He played in the French national league for two years before being drafted by the Spurs\u00a0in 2001.\u00a0 He is their starting point guard and has helped lead the team to three NBA Championships (2003, 2005, 2007).\u00a0 He\u00a0was\u00a0named\u00a0the NBA Finals MVP in 2007.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The NBA\u00a0star\u00a0has a brother, Terence, who continues to play in the French league.\u00a0 Tony married the very famous American actress Eva Longoria in a lavish wedding at the Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois Church in Paris <\/a>on July 7, 2007, with many of her Desperate Housewives co-stars in attendance.\u00a0 It was once the parish church of French kings.<\/p>\n

Vas-y Tony!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For anyone who follows sports, especially basketball, you\u00a0hear a lot about Tony Parker, the NBA’s two-time All Star from France who is currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs.\u00a0 Now, although Tony grew up in France after moving there when he was just three weeks old and is a member of the French national basketball…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[296,417,587],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-french-basketball","tag-french-sports","tag-tony-parker"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t