Tony Parker Won’t Play in World Championships

To the San Antonio Spurs’ great delight, T-Pizzle will be watching his Team France buddies on television instead of risking further injury. From the Express-News: “The Spurs won’t have to worry about Tony Parker injuring himself while playing for the French national team in the FIBA World Championships in Turkey this summer. Parker informed the French squad on Thursday that he will sit out the international competition so he can be in top shape when the Spurs open training camp in October. ‘I don’t want to play on the national team this year, and that’s because I played the last five summers,’ he said. ‘This year I felt it a lot. I was tired all the time. I’d wake up in the morning, and I was tired. I had a lot of injuries, too, and it’s time I got a break.’ Last summer, Parker suffered a foot injury while playing for France in a qualifying tournament for the World Championships. He sustained an ankle injury early in the Spurs’ season, was bothered by plantar fasciitis for much of the season, incurred a hip flexor problem after the All-Star break, and suffered a broken hand in Memphis on March 6. He missed 26 regular-season games. Even before Parker met with Spurs officials this week to discuss his summer activities, he said he was inclined to pass on the summer tournament. He told Spurs coach Gregg Popovich this week he had finalized his decision. ‘I talked with Pop, and he said it is always up to me,’ Parker said, ‘but they prefer I don’t play, and I agree completely.”’