SAN ANTONIO (AP) Boris Diaw was rightly concerned about the well-being of a scrawny 19-year-old kid moving to a new country and attempting to compete against the games best in the NBA. One odd Christmas dinner that turned into an impromptu film session helped Diaw realize his friend and French teammate, Tony Parker, was going to be just fine.
The seeds of that evening came to full fruition as the San Antonio Spurs retired Parkers No. 9 jersey on Monday night in a stirring ceremony.
The sting of a 113-109 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies was quickly forgotten as a sell-out crowd celebrated the career of San Antonios mercurial point guard.