Exclusive: 'Tony [Parker] was head and shoulders above everyone else': Kings’ Mike Brown dishes on scouting Spurs Legend
Plenty of reasons could explain why San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did not attend Tony Parker’s Summer League debut.
Busy schedule. Indifference. Maybe both. After watching Parker up close, however, former Spurs assistant coach Mike Brown called Popovich and projected Parker would become the franchise’s star point guard for the next 15 years.
“I ranted and raved about him to Pop,” Brown told Sportskeeda. “The things that he was able to do at such a young age, it just blew me away.”
That prediction turned out correct after the Spurs selected the French phenom at No. 28 in the 2001 NBA Draft. Not only did Parker help the Spurs win 4 of their five NBA titles in the last two decades. He will become inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame on Saturday.
Brown, who is currently entering his second season as the Sacramento Kings’ head coach, spoke to Sportskeeda about how Parker quickly changed the Spurs’ impressions of him during pre-draft workouts, his initial struggles with fitting in with teammates and more.
Sportskeeda interview with Mike Brown on Tony Parker ahead of his Hall of Fame induction
Editor’s note: The following Q&A has been edited and condensed.
What were your initial impressions of Tony Parker when you first saw him play? And what was the setting?
“The first time I saw him play was when our front office, led by R.C. Buford, had us work him out at the pre-draft camp in Chicago [in 2001]. I thought he was just okay. He was fast, obviously. That stood out. But he really couldn’t shoot the ball well. He didn’t have a medium game. We had put him in through some drills, and we just didn’t know what he would bring to the table. After that first workout, the coaching staff wasn’t really that high on him. We liked him, but he didn’t have a great workout. R.C. Buford and Sam Presti were the ones that convinced all of us to take a second look at him."
"We brought him in to San Antonio fairly close to the draft. The things that we told him he needed to work on, Parker worked diligently on refining his game. He had a fantastic workout. We also had other guys, but Tony was head and shoulders above everybody else. The progress that he made from when we first saw him in Chicago to his second workout in San Antonio was one of the biggest jumps I’ve ever seen in such a short amount of time. He was phenomenal. We thought he would be in the top 10 after that workout. So on draft night, we tried desperately to trade up to get him. We obviously didn’t have success. But we were floored when he fell to us at No. 28. We were shocked.”
What were the improvements that jumped out to you?
“I knew his speed was going to be his bread and butter. I didn’t know anyone that had the burst that he had, especially in the open court. He developed a floater off of two feet. I just let him go. I felt he was ready to take on a big role, even as a rookie. I pushed him to let loose and play to his strengths. We developed a bond because of it.”
Tony wrote in his book that Pop didn’t go to his summer-league debut. But that you told Pop, ‘We found our point guard for the next 15 years.’ What do you recall about that?
“I can’t quite remember. But I was extremely excited about it. I ranted and raved about him to Pop. The things that he was able to do at such a young age, it just blew me away.”
What was Pop’s reaction?
“I don’t remember his specific reaction, but I know as a staff that we were all blown away with Tony’s ability and that we were able to get him so late in the draft.”
How did you see Tony adjust to the NBA and the possibility that the Spurs would later sign Jason Kidd as a free agent at his expense?
“Tony was fantastic from day one. The only thing he struggled with initially was that we weren’t originally a team that moved the basketball. The ball movement and body movement were great. But it only stuck when it went to Tim Duncan’s hands. Tim was a guy that we threw the ball into the post and let him go to work. Other than that, the ball movement and body movement were extraordinary. Tony was a score-first point guard."
"We had to get him to understand when to know to get a bucket. For him to understand and feel that with the veterans we had, it took a little bit of time. Initially, a lot of our veterans were frustrated with playing with him. He had an uncanny ability to score, and he went and did it. But our veterans were used to playing a certain way with the ball movement. So to have your point guard and score before we cross halfcourt because he was so fast? That was something that was new to our guys. It took some time to get used to it. It then took time for Tony to get used to playing with them.”
What were the specific turning points for that to work out?
“Speedy Claxton played really well for us. He was a guy that had a nice medium game. He could score. But he was also a true point guard where he could set guys up and make the game easier for them. Speedy was a fantastic backup to Tony and was garnering more time as the [2002-03] season went along. But Speedy separated his shoulder [early in the season]. After that happened, we said, ‘We’ll put the ball in the young fella’s hands the rest of the way.’ Tony took off from there. He was fantastic. Tony then showed the ability to take off and take on the load with being our guy. It was unbelievable for a young player, especially for a young player from France. He had a lot of hurdles he had to overcome. That was one of them. He felt like it was his team since he had the ball in his hands. Our veterans saw the potential there and then wanted to rock with Tony.”
Follow NBA writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.