Spurs point guard Tony Parker is 33 years old, and wants to play until he’s 38. He says he’s voiced that desire to the Spurs—he wants to get to 20 NBA seasons played. If he can hold up physically, there’s no reason TP can’t do it. With age, his game has found ways to adapt, beating the young cats with veteran savvy. He’s a four-time NBA Champion for a reason. From Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports:
Tony Parker has watched old rivals Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups and Jason Kidd end their playing careers in recent years. Parker, however, isn’t eying his own retirement party anytime soon. If everything goes right for him, the longtime San Antonio Spurs point guard won’t quit until after his 20th NBA season.
“The Spurs know I want to play until I’m 38,” Parker told Yahoo Sports in a recent phone interview. “That will be 20 seasons for me. That’s my goal. This year is No. 15. And if I’m lucky enough and I’m healthy, hopefully I can play 20 seasons and then I’ll be ready to retire.”
Parker, 33, made $12.5 million in the final year of his last contract last season. This season will be the first year of the 14-year NBA veteran’s new contract paying him a total of $43.3 million over the next three seasons. Parker said he has told Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford he wants a career-ending three-year contract in San Antonio after his new deal expires.
The big question is whether Parker will be healthy enough to play that long. He was hampered, most notably, by a left hamstring strain last season. He averaged 14.4 points and 4.9 assists, his lowest production in each category since he was a 19-year-old rookie. He played in 68 regular-season games last season and fewer than 70 in each of the past three seasons.
