It's time to pay Tony Parker his dues

Last night, it was the battle of point guards :

Chris “best point guard right now” Paul vs Tony “who?” Parker.

The outcome : Tony scored a game-high 31 points on 12 for 16 shooting and dished seven assists without a turnover in just 28 minutes and held Chris Paul to mere 4 points which was even lesser than his fouls.

Also, the Spurs destroyed Clippers.

A few nights ago, Tony Parker and the Spurs held Kyrie Irving to 6 points; in the game, Tony Parker has an impressive stat-line: 24 pts,7 assists and passing the final play to Leonard who went on to hit the game-winning 3.

After all the stellar performances, Tony Parker got some much needed acclaim.

Charles Barkley said:

“This guy — first of all, he should be the MVP,. Listen, LeBron [James] is the best player. Kevin Durant‘s probably a better player. But when we’ve been voting on the MVP the last 25 years, we gave it to the guy who had the best record on the best team. Tony Parker should be the MVP. If they finish with the best record — because you think of all the time that [Tim] Duncan and my man [Manu] Ginobili have missed — this guy’s unbelievable. And just because he’s down in San Antonio with all those big old women, he don’t get the credit and respect he deserves.”

The Spurs now stands atop the Western Conference with a 44-12 record, 4 clear of OKC and there are huge chances they will have the best record. So that means Tony Parker would be the MVP, right? Wrong! He’s from the Spurs and they are boring! What about LeBron James or Kevin Durant? Isn’t Chris Paul a better leader and guard? What’s so special about Parker?

These are common responses that question Parker’s legacy. He may or may not be the MVP, but he’s really awesome. I’ll give you the reasons.

1) Tony Parker is a greatest offensive threat point guard in the NBA. There, I said it.

2) He can hit you on isolations with his combination of speed, floaters and some shakes too. He can hit the mid-range jumper (48 percent from mid range, by far a career-best) coming off a screen; he also hits 44.2 percent of corner 3′s he take – a very important part of Spurs offense; he’s banking game winning 3′s and clutch 3′s.

3) He’s averaging 7.7 dishes per game, also a career high.

4) Duncan’s been rejuvenated this season; but in last few weeks, he has has missed some games. Manu isn’t 100% this season and the only guy that is leading him through with NBA’s best record is Tony Parker who ranks 4th in PER (only behind James, Durant & Paul.)

5) He’s also 3th in true shooting category with .610 only behind Steve Nash & Jose Calderon and ahead of Chris Paul.

6) On the defensive end, Tony’s been very good this season. I’ve already mentioned how he held Chris Paul and Kyrie to 4 & 6pts respectively.

7) Also, according to Synergy Sports, Parker’s also having a benchmark defensive season.

The Spurs are Tony’s team now; he’s the driving force and the most consistent player in their squad. He’s been phenomenal this season and is a real talent who we all just overlook. He might not be a dunking point guard like Westbrook or Rose or have crossover skills like Chris Paul or Irving; but he is a true point guard in every sense – he makes the right plays, he probes for opponents weaknesses and finds the right way to exploit them; he’s making the right decisions on offensive end; he’s been a great shooter and is grabbing a lot of attention on pick & roll only to result in a wide open look at the rim for Duncan/Splitter. In every way, he’s been “the” Point Guard.

His game is so smooth that it’s easily forgettable.

As Dan Devine said :

“You can’t hang on the “he’s not the best, but he means the most” argument when both James and Durant are using a larger share of their team’s possessions and doing so more efficiently/productively; they are playing on an all-time great/seasons-for-the-ages-level, and Parker just isn’t. There’s no shame in that. It’s a simple fact of the matter.”

Agreed.

Tony Parker isn’t going to be this year this MVP, it’s a two way race between James & Durant.

But Tony Parker is brilliant too. He’s the heart and soul of the best run team in the NBA; he is averaging career high’s, he is putting up stellar performances every single night; he is better now then he ever was and needs to be given the respect he deserves.

It’s time we pay Tony Parker his dues.