Tony Parker wins FIBA European Player of Year award
Berlin, Oct 9 (IANS) NBA All-Star guard Tony Parker was presented the 2013 European Player of the Year by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Europe secretary general Kamil Novak. The ceremony, held Wednesday before the NBA pre-season game between Parker's San Antonio Spurs and Alba Berlin, formalised the result of a vote announced last February, reports Xinhua.
A member of Spurs' four-time NBA championship-winning squad, Parker, however, won the Player of the Year award for the first time after leading France to the European title in 2013 and helped the Spurs make the 2012-2013 season's NBA Finals before losing to Miami Heats.
The 32-year-old, whose team had a perfect revenge this year to beat the Heats for their fourth NBA title in five games in the finals, was the first ever foreign player of NBA to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2007.
"This award has been long overdue, but it was worth the wait as Tony is the epitomisation of dedication and professionalism," said Novak.
Wednesday's game here, which saw Parker lead all scorers with 28 points but the NBA defending champions fell 93-94 with a Jamel McLean buzzer beater for the hosts, is part of the NBA Global Games' European tour.
Parker and the Spurs will complete in a seven-game series of pre-season, including another game in Istanbul against Fenerbahce Saturday.
The NBA season will begin October 28.