San Antonio Spurs' star point guard Tony Parker turns 35

Parker earned starting role at age 19

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs’ star point guard Tony Parker on Wednesday celebrates his 35th birthday with the same team he was drafted by at the age of 19.

Now in his 16th season with the Spurs, the Belgian-born, France-raised Parker has spent nearly half his life in San Antonio, playing alongside other Spurs legends like Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

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After initially playing second fiddle to former Spur Antonio Daniels, Parker started 72 games at point guard as a rookie in the 2001-02 season. He’s worn No. 9 on the back of his silver and black jersey ever since.

In his rookie season, Parker averaged 9.2 points on 42 percent shooting, 4.3 assists and 2.6 rebounds.

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Before suffering a ruptured left quadriceps tendon in Game 2 of this year’s Western Conference semifinals, Parker was averaging 10.1 points on 47 percent shooting along with 4.5 assists. 

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However, Parker’s season-ending injury does not diminish his achievements over the course of his career.

In 2007, Parker was named NBA Finals MVP and was a key factor to the eighth sweep in NBA Finals history, winning his fourth championship over LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers. No team has repeated a sweep since the Spurs’ run that year.

Parker is a six-time NBA All-Star, four-time champion, and has gathered a career average of 16.2 points on 49 percent shooting, 5.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds.

Happy Birthday, Tony! Bon anniversaire!

To celebrate Parker’s career, watch TP9’s career highlight tape below.

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