Starting in 1984, the Academic Betterment and Career Development (ABCD) camp became a proving ground for some of the NBA’s most notable names during their high school days. This camp, which ran until its final edition in 2006, was where icons like LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant first showcased their talents. The camp’s focus was clear: discovering the next American prodigies. But what about those from outside the U.S.? Tony Parker might just have shifted the exclusivity.

Chris Luchey, a former agent for the ABCD camp, shared a story on the Sheed & Tyler podcast about how Tony Parker almost didn’t make it. He recalled when one of the camp’s directors received a call about a young standout player from France. However, as Luchey put it, “at this time, it wasn’t popular taking Europeans, right? I mean that wasn’t what we were doing. It’s ABCD Camp, All-American, you know.” Despite the hesitation, one director took a chance on Parker.

Moreover, the camp’s owner, Sonny Vaccaro, was always on the lookout for raw talent, organizing an annual All-Star game to spotlight the best. Then, as the directors were finalizing the roster, they noticed Parker’s name had made the cut. Not everyone was convinced.

Gary Charles, another camp director, objected, saying “Why would we do that? Nobody’s ever going to hear about this kid again. He came from France, ever like it’s gonna do us no good.” Too bad for him the words did not age well.

Across twenty years, Tony Parker represented San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets to finish with four championships. Spurs have also retired his No. 9 jersey and has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Parker exited NBA in 2019 as one of the best point guards but not before opening the gates for French stars.

Tony Parker drew in a new generation

When Parker made it to the NBA, there were only 2 French players and he was the first one to win a championship and also to make it to All-Star. Now in the past six years, a total of 17 have reportedly made it to the draft. Among them, Rudy Gobert has won 4 DOPY, Victor Wembanyama has won ROTY, and Zaccharie Risacher and Alexandre Sarr made it as the top 2 of the 2024 draft class.

“Just seeing the [championship] rings and how successful he was in the NBA, he makes you dream of being successful, too,” Sarr told Andscape, speaking about Parker. And it wasn’t just France that Parker represented. The 4x NBA champion was also the first European to win NBA Finals MVP in 2007.

When asked if he, alongside Pau Gasol considered themselves ‘fathers of the current generation of European NBA players,’ he agreed. A few before them may have pushed the door, but “Pau, Dirk (Nowitzki), Andrey (Kirilenko) and I, we really opened it,” he says.

There were 60 European players part of the league in 2023-24 across 27 different countries. Moreover, 5 of the last six MVP titles have all been secured by Europeans – Giannis Antetokounmpo (2) and Nikola Jokic (3). With the growing influence, the number is only believed to increase.

“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”