Tony Parker - Player Profile

Player Profile

Parker plays the point guard position and has established himself as a potent scorer. Voted by his peers in a 2007 poll as one of the quickest players in the NBA, he often slashes to the basket for a layup or teardrop shot. Despite his relatively small size for a basketball player (6'2"), he led the league in "points in the paint" for a large portion of the 2005–06 season.

In the initial part of his NBA career, Parker was still considered an erratic shooter of the ball and during the 2005 off-season, coach Popovich decided to work on this aspect of his play. Seeing his mediocre shooting percentages (at that point, Parker only hit 65% of his free throws, and only 27.6% of his three point shots), he let him train extra sessions with Spurs shooting coach Chip Engelland. Engelland forbade Parker to shoot any three point shots, and among others, corrected his shooting motion and his thumb position. As a result, by the 2006–07 season, Parker had reduced his three point shots by 117 while shooting 147 more normal field goal attempts compared to 2005, and his accuracy rose by 4% (field goals and three point shots) and he was able to connect on 78% of his free throws that season. Parker's field goal percentage is also high for a point guard, and his speed also makes him a fast break player. However, his style of play has had adverse effects on his knees (tendinitis).