Anthony Parker

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the American former basketball player. For other people, including other basketball players, see Anthony Parker (disambiguation).

Anthony Parker
Lottomatica Roma
2003–2006Maccabi Tel Aviv
2006–2009Toronto Raptors
2009–2012Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Anthony Michael Parker (born June 19, 1975) is an American professional basketball executive who is the general manager of the Orlando Magic and former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as in Italy and Israel. He is one of the most beloved and successful players in Maccabi Tel Aviv history.

Prior to graduating from

EuroLeague MVP. He was also named the 2004 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP
.

After returning to the NBA as a free agent in 2006, Parker was the Toronto Raptors' starting shooting guard. In his first season with the Raptors, Parker helped the team clinch their first-ever division title, first NBA playoffs berth in five years, and best regular-season record in franchise history. He helped the Raptors reach the playoffs again in the 2007–08 season, before becoming a free agent in 2009.

On June 27, 2012, Anthony Parker retired after playing nine seasons in the NBA, five seasons in Israel, and one season in Italy.

Lakeland Magic, the Orlando Magic's NBA G League developmental team.[2] In 2021, he was moved to Orlando as an assistant general manager.[3] In 2023, he was promoted to General Manager of the Magic.[4]

Biography

Early basketball career

Parker started out playing

liberal arts and sciences in his senior year, and earned two Major Robert H. Lawrence Jr. Scholarships while at Bradley.[9]

Parker entered the

rebounds per game (rpg) before being released in January 2000.[11] He finished the remainder of the season with the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association where he averaged 11.5 points in 26 games.[9]

Israeli league team Maccabi
to a number of domestic and European honors in his five years with the club.

European career

Disappointed in his failure to make a breakthrough in the NBA, Parker turned to Europe to resurrect his basketball career, intending to return to the NBA after a good season with a European club.[12] Eventually, he moved to Israel in the 2000–01 season, where he was signed by the Israeli EuroLeague powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv.[9] Initially, Parker and his wife were intimidated by the occasional bomb attacks in the city, but they soon settled in and Parker was able to focus on his basketball career.[13]

Within his first season with his new club, he became one of their most pivotal players. Parker was signed to fill the void left by

FIBA SuproLeague Cup.[9]

He continued his fine form for the club in the 2001–02 season, averaging 16.4 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game[14] as Maccabi again won both domestic titles and even reached the Euroleague 2001–02 Final Four.[9]

Parker in an interview with the Israeli press

Parker left Israel in 2002, and in January 2003 moved to Italy, where he signed with

Virtus Roma, playing in 27 Italian Serie A league games and averaging 14.5 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game.[9]

However, half a year later Parker longed a return to Israel, a country he had grown to love.

All-EuroLeague in the Euroleague 2004–05 season.[9][16]

The 2004–05 season also proved to be a watershed season for Parker, as he averaged career-highs of 18.0 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, and 3.6 assists per game.[17]

In his final season with Maccabi, he led the team to another domestic double, but in the

EuroLeague 2000–10 All-Decade Team in 2010.[18][19]

Parker's experience playing in Israel left a positive impression upon him. He went on to wear jersey number 18 for both Toronto and Cleveland, explaining that: "I played in Israel before I came back to the NBA, and I had such a great time... two of my sons were born while I was playing overseas and one was actually born in Israel. And I just had such a great experience that I wanted to take something from that experience. The number 18, in Judaism, it means 'chai'... and it's the symbol for life and good fortune in Judaism. And I thought that was something to take away from Israel and let them know I'm still representing them."[20]

Return to the NBA

Toronto Raptors

Anthony Parker during his tenure with the Raptors

In October 2005, during a pre-season

General Manager Bryan Colangelo as a free agent as part of a massive revamp of the 2006–07 Toronto team.[15] He was signed for approximately $12 million (USD) over three years,[12] joining recent European veteran acquisitions Jorge Garbajosa and José Calderón on the team. Adopting a #18 jersey, Parker quickly established himself as the starting shooting guard for Toronto and a well-respected three-point shooter in the NBA, ranking fourth in the league for three-point field goal percentage by the end of the regular season.[21] Overall, in his first season with Toronto, he averaged 12.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, and 2.1 apg,[11] leading his team in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage.[5] Parker's defensive and offensive versatility were credited as instrumental in helping the Raptors clinch their first-ever division title, first NBA playoffs berth in five years, as well as best regular-season record in franchise history.[22][12][23]

He didn't make it in the NBA basically and had to go back to Europe to establish himself and came back at the age of 31. Here's a guy that supposedly wasn't good enough to be in the NBA and he went from Euroleague player to NBA starter. He took advantage of his opportunity and it was the right fit for this team.

– Bryan Colangelo, Raptors GM[24]

In the first round of the

2007 NBA Playoffs, Parker was chosen to defend New Jersey Net and former Toronto favorite Vince Carter. Parker was effective in shutting down Carter, restricting him to 13-for-43 shooting in the first two games.[12] However, the Raptors were eliminated by the Nets after Game 6.[25]

On April 4, 2007, the NBA also announced that Parker had been selected by a five-member panel of former players as the divisional winner of 2006–07 NBA Sportsmanship Award.[26] The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship in amateur and professional basketball.[26]

On his return to the NBA, Parker (far right) became the starting shooting guard for the Raptors.

In the

2008 NBA Playoffs, albeit as the sixth seed. However, the Raptors were eliminated in the first round by the Orlando Magic in five games.[27] Parker was later named by ESPN as one of the best Euroleague players to have graced the NBA.[28]

At the end of the 2007–08 season, he ranked 7th in NBA's all-time leaders in three-point field goal percentage.[29]

Parker played a variety of roles in the following season. First, Kapono was temporarily moved to the starting shooting guard spot after the Raptors fired head coach Sam Mitchell. When Calderón was injured, Parker had to fill in as the starting point guard. After struggling in December, he hit good form in January and helped the Raptors inch towards a better record after the team went 16–28. Although Parker eventually regained his starting spot, Toronto fell further behind the playoff race as a result of changing rosters and inconsistent performances, dropping to 21–34 just before the All-Star break. The shooting guard's offensive output was also erratic throughout the season, and the Raptors all but fell out of the playoffs picture by March. The Raptors eventually concluded the regular season with only 33 wins,[30] with Parker suffering a significant drop in his numbers (shooting percentage and points per game).[11] His future remained uncertain as he was due to become a free agent, but he expressed a desire to return to Toronto for the next season.[31] With Toronto selecting shooting guard DeMar DeRozan in the 2009 NBA draft, that uncertainty was compounded.[32]

Cleveland Cavaliers

Parker as a Cavalier in a game against the Wizards on November 18, 2009

On July 13, 2009, Parker signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the

playoffs, they defeated Chicago in five games. Cleveland faced the 2008 champions Boston
in the next round, and despite expectations to prevail over the aging Celtics, Cleveland lost the series 4–2. Parker started all 11 of Cleveland's playoff games.

During the 2010 NBA offseason, LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas left Cleveland for the Miami Heat, which led several other veterans to also leave the team. The departures would thrust Parker, Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejão into the spotlight as the veteran leaders for the young team. While Cleveland only managed a conference-worst 19–63 season, they were able to upset LeBron James' heavily favored Miami Heat on March 29, 2011, in a game where Parker grabbed eight rebounds and scored 20 points.[36]

On June 27, 2012, Parker announced his retirement.[37]

National team career

Parker had a brief stint with the junior

FIBA Americas Under-21 Championship, and captured the gold medal in 1996, en route to qualifying for the 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Cup.[38] In the gold medal game, Parker scored a game-high 19 points, in a win against Canada.[38]

Executive career

Parker was the scout of the Orlando Magic following his retirement in 2012 and fulfilled that role until 2017, when he was promoted to become the G League general manager. He served in that role until 2021 when he became an assistant general manager back with the Orlando team. On July 5 the Magic officially announced that they have promoted Parker as the next General manager replacing John Hammond who was promoted to Senior Advisor to the President of Basketball Operations.

Personal life

Parker was born in

cheerleader.[40] Parker's younger siblings also played basketball; his brother Marcus played basketball in high school, while his sister Candace plays in the WNBA and was the number one pick of the 2008 draft.[40][22] Early in his professional basketball career, Parker married Tamy, and they had their first child in 2002.[13] Parker is Christian.[41]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
† Denotes seasons in which Parker won the
FIBA SuproLeague
Led the league

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1997–98 Philadelphia 37 0 5.3 .397 .321 .650 .7 .5 .3 .1 1.9
1998–99 Philadelphia 2 0 1.5 1.000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 1.0
1999–00 Orlando 16 0 11.6 .421 .071 .727 1.7 .6 .5 .3 3.6
2006–07 Toronto 73 73 33.4 .477 .441 .835 3.9 2.1 1.0 .2 12.4
2007–08 Toronto 82* 82* 32.1 .476 .438 .816 4.1 2.2 1.0 .2 12.5
2008–09 Toronto 80 71 33.0 .426 .390 .834 4.0 3.4 1.3 .2 10.7
2009–10 Cleveland 81 81 27.5 .434 .414 .789 2.9 1.9 .8 .2 7.3
2010–11 Cleveland 72 65 29.0 .399 .379 .779 3.0 3.0 .9 .1 8.3
2011–12 Cleveland 51 51 25.1 .433 .362 .625 2.7 2.4 .7 .1 7.2
Career 494 423 27.8 .444 .404 .794 3.2 2.3 .9 .2 9.1

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007
 Toronto 6 6 40.0 .419 .400 .795 5.3 1.0 1.5 .3 15.2
2008
 Toronto 5 5 39.2 .408 .294 .857 6.0 2.0 .8 .4 11.4
2010
 Cleveland 11 11 30.1 .436 .455 .733 2.4 1.3 .8 .3 8.3
Career 22 22 34.8 .434 .407 .794 4.0 1.4 1.0 .3 10.9

Career highs

  • Points: 27 vs. Chicago 04/08/07
  • Rebounds: 11 @ Indiana 02/25/08
  • Assists: 9 3 times
  • Steals: 4 8 times
  • Blocks: 2 11 times

FIBA SuproLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000–01† Maccabi 24 24 31.5 .476 .364 .775 5.3 2.2 1.4 0.5 14.7

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2001–02 Maccabi 20 19 34.6 .504 .339 .726 5.2 1.6 1.6 .3 16.4 17.5
2003–04† Maccabi 21 21 35.1 .542 .490 .870 5.8 3.5 1.2 .4 16.0 22.2
2004–05† Maccabi 24 24 34.7 .545 .476 .856 5.3 3.6 2.0 .6 18.0 24.9
2005–06 Maccabi 25 25 35.5 .522 .365 .787 6.9 3.8 1.7 .2 14.8 20.5
Career 90 89 35.0 .528 .411 .818 5.8 3.2 1.6 .4 16.3 21.4

See also

  • List of National Basketball Association career 3-point field goal percentage leaders

References

  1. ^ "Anthony Parker retires after 9 years in NBA, 6 in Israel", fearthesword.com, accessed June 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "Magic name Anthony Parker GM, Stan Heath head coach of Lakeland G-League team". August 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Orlando Magic Announce Basketball Operations Promotions". Orlando Magic. October 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "Magic promote Anthony Parker to GM, replacing John Hammond". ESPN. July 5, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Anthony Parker, interbasket.net, accessed April 25, 2010.
  6. ^ Anthony Parker Statistics, basketball-reference.com, accessed May 10, 2010.
  7. ^ NBA Players – Anthony Parker, hoopshype.com, accessed April 26, 2007.
  8. ^ Reynods, Dave, Bradley All-Century Team Archived May 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, pjstar.com, accessed April 26, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Anthony Parker Info Page – Bio Archived April 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, accessed April 25, 2007.
  10. ^ a b Anthony Parker Archived February 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, sportsnet.ca, accessed April 25, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d Anthony Parker Info Page – Career statistics and Totals Archived April 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, accessed May 15, 2010.
  12. ^ a b c d e Grange, Michael, "Parker turning heads in playoff debut", The Globe and Mail, April 25, 2007.
  13. ^ a b c Anthony Parker Archived March 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, pjstar.com, accessed April 26, 2007.
  14. ^ PARKER, ANTHONY, euroleague.net, accessed April 26, 2007.
  15. ^ a b c d Raptors Sign Free Agent Anthony Parker, nba.com/raptors, accessed April 25, 2007.
  16. ^ Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv Basketball Club Archived December 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 26, 2007.
  17. ^ PARKER, ANTHONY, euroleague.net, accessed April 27, 2007.
  18. ^ 50 Greatest Contributors List Archived April 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, euroleague.net, accessed June 6, 2010.
  19. ^ Fans, media chose decade's best!, euroleague.net, accessed June 6, 2010.
  20. ^ Shultz, J.D., "How Did the Cavaliers Choose Their Jersey Numbers?" Archived February 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, theclevelandfan.com, February 3, 2010, accessed February 8, 2010.
  21. ^ 2006–07 THREE POINT LEADERS: 3-POINT FG PERCENTAGE Archived January 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, accessed April 26, 2007.
  22. ^ a b Eisenberg, Jamey, "Oh brother, where art thou? Helping resurgent Raptors" Archived May 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, sportsline.com, April 10, 2007, accessed April 26, 2007.
  23. ^ Ulmer, Mark, "The One They Needed", nba.com/raptors, April 24, 2007, accessed April 27, 2007.
  24. ^ Hareas, John, "Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo on Jamario Moon", nba.com, November 28, 2007, accessed November 29, 2007.
  25. ^ Raptors Post Up, May 4, 2007, accessed May 31, 2007.
  26. ^ a b "Anthony Parker Receives Atlantic Division Sportsmanship Award", nba.com/raptors, April 4, 2007, accessed April 27, 2007.
  27. ^ Smith, Doug, "Season over for deflated Raptors", thestar.com, April 29, 2008, accessed April 30, 2008.
  28. ^ Whittel, Ian, Best of the Euroleague and NBA: Anthony Parker, sports.espn.go.com, May 2, 2008, accessed May 6, 2008.
  29. ^ All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goal Percentage Archived March 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, nba.com, accessed April 25, 2008.
  30. ^ 2008–09 NBA Season Summary, basketball-reference.com, accessed April 20, 2009.
  31. ^ Feschuk, Dave, "Raptors upbeat despite hangovers", thestar.com, April 17, 2009, accessed April 20, 2009.
  32. ^ Griffin top pick in NBA draft, sports.espn.go.com, June 26, 2009, accessed June 27, 2009.
  33. ^ Cavs, Parker have a deal, news-herald.com, July 10, 2009, accessed July 11, 2009.
  34. ^ a b Cavaliers Sign Anthony Parker, nba.com, July 13, 2009, access July 13, 2009.
  35. ^ Cleveland Cavaliers, basketball-reference.com, accessed July 14, 2009.
  36. ^ [Anthony Parker Leads Cavaliers To Win Over Miami Heat http://cleveland.sbnation.com/cleveland-cavaliers/2011/3/29/2079907/Cavs-vs-heat-score-anthony-parker-leads-cavaliers-to-win-over-miami-heat]
  37. ^ Anthony Parker retires after 9 years in NBA, 6 in Israel: Cavaliers Insider
  38. ^ a b c USA Basketball: World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team History Archived June 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, usabasketball.com, accessed April 26, 2007.
  39. ^ Anthony Parker Archived January 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, basketball-reference.com, accessed February 6, 2009.
  40. ^ a b Bio – CP3 Data Archived May 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, candaceparker.com, accessed April 26, 2007.
  41. ^ Araton, Harvey, "Life Lessons From Sports in a World of Strife", nytimes.com, February 21, 2009, accessed April 20, 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anthony Parker.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthony_Parker&oldid=1207871798"