Why is Tony Parker historically underrated?

It’s hard to say whether Tony Parker is underrated by every demographic, or just the one that does a surface level check before rendering a verdict. Judging by career accomplishments, it would be easy to assume that he was a fairly nondescript role player for a championship level franchise. First, it would be unfair to Parker to call him a role player. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times, and garnered MVP votes in seven different seasons. He was also a six-time all-star selection. Just from his regular season output alone, Parker has a strong case as a top-100 player of all-time. When we add in the fact that he’s one of the most decorated playoff performers in NBA history, it’s not a question of if he’s a top 100 player, but how high on the list does he go.   

Parker helped lead the San Antonio Spurs to five NBA Finals appearances, including four NBA Championships. He was the leading playoff scorer for the Spurs on the 2014 title team, and was named the Finals MVP in 2007. He is one of only three point guards since 1960 to win four NBA Championships, with a career scoring average of at least 17 points. The other two are Magic Johnson and Steph Curry. He’s also one of only two point guards in history with four NBA Championships while holding at least a 49% career field goal percentage. Magic Johnson is the other. Parker has played the 6th most playoff games in NBA history, and is one of only five players to play at least 220 playoff games, with a career scoring average of at least 17 points. The others are LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kobe Bryant. 

Parker’s playing style was truly one-of-a kind for point guards. He probed and broke down defenses in a way the league had never seen before or since. In truly one of the more remarkable stats in NBA history, a whopping 34.8% of Parker’s field goal attempts came from within three feet of the basket. Even more remarkable, his field goal percentage on these shots was a mindblowing 64.8%. To put that in perspective, both of those percentages are higher than Hakeem Olajuwon’s, who just happens to be one of the top-5 centers the league has ever seen.

The number of point guards who have been the focal point of multiple NBA Championship teams–let alone four–is few and far between. The point guard position has historically not been the straw that stirs NBA dynasties. Outside of Magic Johnson and Steph Curry, it just hasn’t happened, which is a testament to how unique Tony Parker’s career was.        

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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