His appointment at the start of the season had caused a lot of ink to flow.
Propelled to the head of the Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne team after the dismissal of the experienced Zvezdan Mitrovic by his president of brother Tony Parker, Terence Jonathan, said TJ, Parker had magnetized many criticisms, was accused of taking advantage of nepotism.
A year later, at 37, he responded to the remarks by allowing the club to win the Coupe de France in May, then a 20th French league title, this Saturday in Rouen against Dijon.
Returned in the night to Lyon to find his wife and his three daughters after the victory of his family against Dijon (87-74) in Rouen, TJ, who had won the title as a player in 2008 with Nancy, took the time to confide his feelings in the morning.
We saw you cry after the final, what does this title represent for you?
TJ PARKER.
I rethought, reviewed, all these years of work, my eight years as an assistant coach, the transition to coach this year, where the beginnings were complicated.
They didn't really believe in me.
No one would have bet a coin on me.
Before the season even started, I was judged.
To have achieved the double proves that the job was done correctly.
TJ Parker's tears… 🥺🏆 # Final4JeepELITE pic.twitter.com/UF7JktYtsg
- LNB (@LNBofficiel) June 26, 2021
Is this a way of responding to criticism?
No, it's not revenge.
I don't pay attention to the reviews, I know they exist, but I don't pay attention to them.
I focus on the people around me, who are with me, my family, my close friends.
The rest, I take no interest, I have something else to think about.
Basketball is my passion, it's our DNA in the family, it's rooted in us.
Tony has had the playing career we all know, now it's up to me to make my way as a coach, with all the support of the people around me.
To read alsoBasket, fame, business… Tony Parker, a destiny à la Michael Jordan
Is family very important to you?
It is my support, my wife was there when things were a little less well, my children too.
It is very important in a career because you do not have an easy job, you are never present.
With the Euroleague, we've played 83 games this year, if you don't share life with someone who understands what you're doing, it's very complicated.
I was a player, it has nothing to do with it, the coach arrives at the venue two hours before the players and leaves an hour after.
But I love it.
Is being the president's brother an advantage or a disadvantage?
Both !
When we were not ranked well in the Euroleague, when we lost matches that we should not have lost, we had a meeting.
It was before the Barcelona match (
Editor's note: 80-68 victory in November 2020
), he told me that he believed in me, that we would go to the end of the season together and that we would do the balance sheet at the end of the year.
It's reassuring to have this confidence, I know this is not the case elsewhere.
But Tony has a real vision for basketball, he's been a player for years and he knows it takes time to set up a new philosophy in attack and defense.
We saw the result.
What we achieved in the Jeep Elite Final Four was all the hard work we accomplished during the year.
Some will say that he kept his trust in you because you were his brother ...
No !
It's because he's a president who knows basketball.
I'm his brother, but we never gave each other a gift in the workplace.
Other presidents do not have the same vision of basketball, they judge and change their coaches without understanding.
If you don't get results, you're fired.
But it doesn't work that way in sports.
You need continuity, it takes time.
In the United States, the mentality is different, whether in the NBA or in university, we let the staff work.
In university, coaches sign for five years because it takes time to impose your philosophy.
So you are at Asvel for a long lease?
Yes, as I told my brother I want to stay as long as possible with Asvel and win as many titles.
Afterwards, we don't know what the future may hold for us.
But my goal is to be the most successful coach with this club.
I already have two that's not bad (laughs).
Doesn't the hard part begin?
Yes, it is obvious that I will be expected around the corner.
The other teams also want to win.
I'm not going to lie, it's true that in Lyon we have more resources than others to win in Jeep Elite, but we have to do it all the same.
It is not easy.
Even if you have great players, you have to build a collective.
Is the next goal also to perform well in the Euroleague?
It's another world.
We must not go too fast.
People do not realize the difference in level, we will still have to start from a blank page (
Editor's note: with a budget announced on the decline
).
There are going to be a lot of departures, but it's the law.
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A post shared by Tony Parker (@ _tonyparker09)
Do you feel like you are finally making a name for yourself, stepping out of your brother's shadow?
I don't think so.
Basketball has always been my passion.
I have had this love of coaching since I started basketball camps in Fécamp a long time ago.
I have this love of basketball in me.
I couldn't have a career as a player because of a big injury (
Editor's note: a rupture of the cruciate ligaments
) but it allowed me to devote myself to coaching very early on.
I just think of being the best I can be and getting as many titles as possible.
Where does your thirst for victory come from?
It was our father who instilled this mentality in us.
Even when we played kids board games, video games, nobody wanted to lose.
We even fought.
We've always been like that.
It's anchored in us, it's a bit like the American mentality.
It is the result that counts.
Is attempting an adventure in the United States in the back of your mind?
I am still young, I am 37 years old.
We'll see, it will happen if it has to happen.
But I'm fine in France, in Lyon, all my friends are here, my mother and my father moved here, TP is there too.
We built a family environment.
We will all work hand in hand again.
I'm not in a hurry, but we know that you can't stay in a club all your life.
