Anthony Parker
From Hoopedia
| Anthony Parker |
|---|
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| Position Shooting Guard |
| Jersey # 18 |
| Height 6 ft 6 |
| Weight 215 lbs |
| League NBA |
| Team Toronto Raptors |
| Born June 19, 1975 in Des Moines, Iwoa |
| College Bradley |
| Drafted 21st overall in 1997 by the Philadelphia 76ers |
| Pro Career 1997 - |
| Former Teams Philadelphia 76ers (1997-1999) Orlando Magic (1999-00) Toronto Raptors (2006- |
Anthony Michael Parker (born June 19, 1975 in Des Moines, Iowa) is an NBA Shooting Guard for the Toronto Raptors. After graduating from Bradley University with a major in liberal arts, he entered the 1997 NBA Draft and played briefly in the NBA before plying his trade in Europe. There, Parker spent five seasons with Israeli basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv and one season with Italian club Pallacanestro Virtus Roma. With Maccabi he won five national championships, five national cups, two Euroleague titles, one Suproleague title, and was voted two-time consecutive Euroleague Most Valuable Player (MVP). Since returning to the NBA as a free agent in 2006, Parker has established himself as Toronto's starting shooting guard, as well as one of the best three point shooters and perimeter defenders in the NBA. 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. Parker is the brother of WNBA star Candace Parker.
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Family Life
Anthony Michael Parker is the son of Larry and Sara Parker, a family with strong basketball traditions. His father played college basketball at the University of Iowa, where his mother was a cheerleader. Parker's younger siblings also played basketball; his brother Marcus played basketball in high school, while his sister Candace is today one of the brightest young talents in the game. Early in his professional basketball career, Parker married Tamy, and they had their first child in 2002.
Early Career
Parker started out playing high school basketball at Naperville Central High School. He then played college basketball at Bradley University where he established himself as a top player, averaging 18.9 PPG and shooting 42% from the three-point line in his third season, earning the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) MVP and All-MVC first team honors in the same season. His outstanding performances for the Braves ensured that he became one of 15 players honored in Bradley's All-Century basketball team named in 2003. Academically, Parker also excelled. He majored in chemistry before switching to liberal arts and sciences in his senior year, and earned two Major Robert H. Lawrence Jr. Scholarships while at Bradley.
Parker entered the 1997 NBA Draft after four years at Bradley and was selected 21st overall by the New Jersey Nets, but was immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a multi-player deal. In his two seasons with the 76ers, Parker was largely plagued by injuries and appeared in only 39 regular season games, averaging just over five minutes a game and totaling 74 points and 26 rebounds. He was subsequently traded, together with Harvey Grant, to the Orlando Magic for Billy Owens before the 1999-2000 season began. Parker again struggled at Orlando, playing only 16 games with modest averages of 3.6 ppg and 1.7 rebounds per game (rpg) before being released in January 2000. 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.
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. Eventually he moved to Israel in the 2000-01 season, where he was signed by Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv. 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. 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 Doron Sheffer's retirement at the shooting guard position, but ended up featuring as both scorer and playmaker for Maccabi. He immediately brought to the team his ability to score, rebound, block shots, and even entertain the crowds with slam dunks. In Parker's inaugural season, Maccabi won the Israeli domestic championship and the Israeli National Cup, as well as the Suproleague cup. He continued his fine form for the club in the 2001-02 season, averaging 16.4 ppg and 5.2 rpg as Maccabi again won both domestic titles, and even reached the Euroleague Final Four.
Parker left Israel in 2002 and in January 2003 moved to Italy, where he signed with Virtus Roma, playing in 27 Serie A league games and averaging 14.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg. However, half a year later Parker longed a return to Israel, a country he had grown to love. Back with Maccabi, he helped his team accomplish two more triple-feats by winning the Israeli domestic championship, the Israeli National Cup, and the Euroleage championship in both 2004 and 2005. In the process, he was named Super League MVP in 2004, Euroleague Final Four MVP in 2004, Euroleague MVP in 2005, and first team All-Euroleague in 2005. The 2004-05 season also proved to be a watershed season for Parker, as he averaged career-highs of 18.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 3.6 APG. In his final season with Maccabi, he led Maccabi to another domestic double, but in the Euroleague championship game, Maccabi was defeated 73-69 by CSKA Moscow. For his efforts, Parker was named Euroleague MVP and first team All-Euroleague for the second consecutive time. After six years of success in Europe however, Parker dreamed of returning to the NBA. Overall, he averaged 13.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.8 SPG in his Israeli league career, while averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 1.6 SPG in the Euroleague.
Return to the NBA
On October 2005, in a pre-season friendly representing Maccabi against the Toronto Raptors, Parker hit the game-winning shot with less than a second remaining to lead Maccabi to a 105-103 win at the Air Canada Centre. This gave the Raptors fans and management a glimpse of his abilities and in July 2006, Parker was officially signed by Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo as a free agent as part of a massive revamp of the 2006-07 Toronto team. He was signed for approximately $12 million over three years, joining recent European veteran acquisitions Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon on the team. 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. Overall, in his first season with Toronto, he averaged 12.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.1 APG, leading his team in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. 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. In the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, Parker was chosen to man-mark New Jersey Nets' 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. However, the Raptors were eliminated by the Nets after Game 6. 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 the 2006-07 NBA Sportsmanship Award. The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship in amateur and professional basketball.
