San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker wants to coach an NBA team, so he's starting a new journey that he hopes will lead him there. French journalist Maxime Aubin just broke the news after an article in L'Equipe was published, revealing the plans of the four-time champion.
🚨 BREAKING via @david_loriot in @lequipe.
Tony Parker has revealed that he’s starting his path toward coaching, with the ultimate goal of leading an NBA team.
« My dream is to coach in the NBA (…) Now it’s the right timing. I feel like I’m ready ».
— Maxime Aubin (@MaximeAubin1) August 21, 2025
Parker's entire life has been about basketball. He's told the story about watching the Dream Team as a child and how his fandom for that team and Michael Jordan, in particular, was a catalyst for his pursuit of a life of hoops. He succeeded in a way that's unfathomable to most children, becoming a force overseas before joining the Spurs and taking over as the franchise point guard.
TP's partnership with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili led to a storied success that won't be duplicated anytime soon. All three players land in the top 11 for the highest win percentage of all time. No other trio in the modern era can boast the same. But they were also led by the great Gregg Popovich, and not if but once Parker succeeds and returns to the sidelines of the NBA, he'll be the latest branch to stem from the great tree.
Being a part of Coach Pop's tree has its advantages
It's like being part of the cool kids crowd; the kind that actually accomplishes something with their lives. With so much success among them and with the relationships they have with each other, Parker will have plenty of connections. It's a strong network to lean on, and doing so will almost guarantee he gets back to the NBA. There's no comparable group to Coach Pop's in the history of the league.
Monty Williams has had his fair share of success and has won Coach of the Year. Ime Udoka is a COY winner and is one of the overall best in the league right now. Mike Budenholzer is a champion and has won Coach of the Year twice. Taylor Jenkins was highly regarded before being ousted from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Steve Kerr will go down as one of the best coaches of all time after securing four championships in Golden State. Those are just the major success stories. James Borrego, Brett Brown, and Jacque Vaughn all had respectable stints as head coaches in the association. It doesn't get any better than that.
Phil Jackson had a respectable branch, but none of his guys ever won championships as head coaches, and Tom Thibodeau is the only one still standing. Pat Riley's biggest success is Erik Spoelstra, and that's a major notch. However, Jeff and Stan Van Gundy also come from Pat's tree, but neither coach led their squads to the mountaintop either.
Parker has been successful as the president of ASVEL back in France, and now he's set his sights on coaching. He'll be an overachiever in that field just as he has been in everything else. There's no doubt that his fellow Pop branches will be there to help guide him along the way if he needs it.