With almost two decades spent on the floors of the big league, Tony Parker has had the time to form a clear opinion of the United States. Questioned by the NBA ahead of the Paris Game, the French legend spoke about his arrival on American soil and the opinion we had of the European game.

18 seasons, four NBA titles, a Finals MVP, nearly 20,000 career points, a retired jersey and Hall of Famer status. Don’t throw any more away, the cup is full: Tony Parker’s NBA career was immense. Member of the legendary Big Three of the Spurs with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, he has also established himself as a model for many stars who arrived after him, such as Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving .

It’s all the more impressive when we look at the context of his arrival in the US. Drafted in 2001, Parker arrives in a league where European legends are still almost non-existent. Along with players like Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol, he helped change that while also being a superb showcase for his own country, as he readily explained in an interview with the league before the Paris Game.

Honest TP about the challenge upon arriving in the United States

I think the biggest obstacle was proving to the Americans that the French could play basketball, because at the time they had no respect for European basketball. In addition, no European playmaker had managed to establish himself in the NBA. So that was the biggest obstacle. It was necessary to show an American coach that a European point guard could lead an NBA franchise.

The least we can say is that it didn’t take long for TP to put Gregg Popovich in his pocket since he became the starter after such short matches. The rest, everyone knows it of course and the number 9 became the greatest player in the history of the tricolor orange ball. A huge accomplishment for him and one that fills him with pride, as he admitted without the slightest difficulty.

I’m proud of it. It makes me both proud and humble. You know, it’s a very nice compliment: In recent days, I heard that it was thanks to me that French basketball had taken off and all that. I would be one of the pioneers. It reminds me of when I was a kid watching Michael Jordan and how the NBA took off, with the Dream Team and all those titles with the Bulls.

I wanted to try to do the same thing with my country in French basketball. So that’s a good thing. One of the greatest compliments anyone can give me is to say that I am the French Michael Jordan. It’s a pretty cool compliment that people in France get up at 3 a.m. to watch Michael Jordan’s games and they get up at 3 a.m. to watch my games.

Before the 2000s, few international players had made an impact on the NBA. Thanks to monsters of the game like Tony Parker in particular, this has changed and Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and other Luka Doncic can today thank them.