Tony Parker: Beyond All of My Dreams by Tony Parker with David Loriot

Author:Tony Parker with David Loriot
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Triumph Books LLC
Published: 2020-09-17T18:43:46+00:00

4. My Life in Business

Ever since I was little, I wanted to be part of the business world. My parents were not part of that world, and I had zero connections. But it was one of my dreams.

One night when I was 14 or 15, during my time on the U18 French team, my friend Gaëtan Mullers and I were talking before going to bed. I told him,“I want to go to the NBA, participate in the basketball camps, and when I’m retired, we’ll buy a club!”

“Okay, we’ll do it!” he said.

Gaëtan liked to say that those were our “three dreams.” I knew early on that it was something I wanted to sink my teeth into. Ronny Turiaf often laughed about it. At the time, I played FIFA Manager a lot. Ronny would say, “Are you preparing for your post-career or what?” Managing clubs, budgets, purchases, trading players, etc. I loved that game. Years later when I bought ASVEL, Ronny sent me this message, as a nod to my FIFA Manager days: “Okay, you’ve fulfilled your dream. You’re going to be able to play manager for real now.”

Early on, I paid close attention to the business of the game. I was aware of my evolving public image. In 2003, when I became the first French NBA champion and offers were coming out of the woodwork, I realized that I was blowing up in France. I didn’t immediately throw myself into business, but I understood that I was becoming kind of an ambassador of French basketball. I wanted to rise to the challenge. With the advice of my mother, I started my foundation, the Par Coeur Gala, and I set up basketball camps.

I really have my mother to thank for my first foray into the business side of basketball. She’s the one that really pushed for us to help the youth that don’t have the same opportunities I had. She made me aware of that early on, and after spending a little time in hospitals, I couldn’t help but be touched by and sure of the importance of such a decision.

The Par Coeur Gala is an opportunity to change peoples’ lives a little. We manage to raise between 200,000 and 250,000 euros per year, and we make donations to different organizations every year. I have also served as an ambassador for the Make-A-Wish Foundation for over 10 years. Personally, I donate the same amount to different organizations in San Antonio. I’m also a member of the board of directors of the San Antonio Zoo, to which I also provide financial assistance to protect certain animal species.

My passion for basketball eventually inspired me to establish and run basketball camps. I really enjoyed it. In general, a professional athlete who has a camp only goes there once or twice a week, stays for two hours, and that’s it. In the beginning, in Fécamp, my brothers and I would stay for two out of the three weeks the camp was open, and I was with the kids from 9:00 am until midnight.

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