Revisiting Tony Parker’s greatest battles against the Portland Trail Blazers

With Tony Parker’s decision to enter retirement, now is a great time to revisit some of his best moments in games against the Portland Trail Blazers.

After 18 long years and an incredible 1,480 games played in the NBA, Tony Parker has had more than his fair share of historic bouts with the Portland Trail Blazers. Playing four times a year (and meeting in the playoffs), Parker had plenty of opportunities to play against two decades of successful Portland teams.

When you take into consideration that Portland housed its own beloved French phenom Nic Batum, the pair of teams have always seemed intertwined in the strangest of ways. Parker was known to be a dear friend of Batum’s and served as a mentor of sorts, helping guide the younger Frenchman along the way.

Unfortunately, Batum’s career would never dare scrape the surface of Parker’s accomplishments. The sentiment still held true however, and endeared the surefire Hall of Famer Parker to many Portland fans alike.

With that being said, let’s look at some of Parker’s most memorable moments against the Portland Trail Blazers for one last time.

The First Dance – 11.03.2001

High expectations were never placed on Tony Parker’s shoulders from the beginning. As the no. 28 overall selection in the 2001 NBA Draft, who could possibly expect much from him? However, with only point guard on the roster in the form of a 38-year-old version of former Blazers legend Terry Porter, the Spurs desperately needed to address the situation.

Fortunately for San Antonio, it didn’t take long for Parker to make a strong impression. Coming off the bench, the rookie Parker scored 15 points and dished out 6 assists to help push the Spurs over a the playoff-bound Blazers. The 19-year-old Parker would go on to start all but five games that season.

Building a Champion – 2.11.2003

Parker would continue on the next season to prove that a quality starting point guard was the one piece the Spurs were missing. The Spurs travelled to Portland on this night to take on the Scottie Pippen and Rasheed Wallace led Portland Trail Blazers. This was a fearsome Blazers squad that would go on to win 50 games, but it didn’t matter that night.

Parker would go on to exploit some of the league’s best defenders of all time and put up 22 points and 8 assists in an efficient manner. This would also be the first year Manu Ginobli stepped foot on an NBA court, officially forming the infamous first ever ‘Big Three’ alongside Tim Duncan. Coincidentally, the trio’s first year together would also be the first year they won an NBA championship together.

Future Finals MVP – 4.09.2007

With just two weeks to go until yet another playoff run, Parker took no mercy on a struggling Portland Trail Blazers team that finished 32-50 on the year. Parker exploded for a 30 point performance while shooting 12 of 16 from the field. His performance led the Spurs to a dominant 16 point victory.

This game appeared to be some significant foreshadowing for the NBA Playoffs, as Parker would take the league by storm and lead San Antonio to their third NBA Championship. This season also marked Parker’s second of many future All-Star appearances.

Parker vs Portland – 2014 Western Conference Semi-Finals

Considering Tony Parker and the Portland Trail Blazers have both concurrently been in the NBA Playoffs in ten different seasons, it’s quite strange they have only met on one occasion. After what happened in that series, Blazers fans are likely thankful the encounters have been kept to a minimum.

In the first three games of the series, Parker averaged a blistering 26 points and 8.3 assists per game.  He repeatedly exposed Damian Lillard’s faulty defense and propelled San Antonio to an average margin of victory of 18 points over the course of the first three games.

Although Portland would retaliate with a win in Game 4, it was all too little too late. The Trail Blazers would fall victim to San Antonio’s quest for yet another championship in five games. A quest the Spurs would eventually complete, beating the LeBron James led Miami Heat and ending the ‘Heatles’ era.

This victory would be the cherry on top for Parker’s career in San Antonio, earning his fourth ring (five for Duncan and Greg Popovich). The Spurs would not return to the Finals in the following years, but that’s hardly a criticism of their greatness. In their 14 seasons together, they went an absolutely ridiculous combined 810-322. Never falling below 50 wins in any given season during the Big Three era, the trio currently (and may always) holds the record for most wins of any three teammates in NBA history.

The Last Dance – 3.03.2019

Although he may have donned different colors this time around, Parker was as big a threat as ever. In his last ever game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Parker proved he still had the juice even at 36-years-old. Coming in off the bench, Parker lit the Blazers up for 14 points and 5 assists in just 13 minutes played. For just one fleeting moment, he appeared to have recaptured his former glory.

This time, however it wasn’t enough. The Blazers beat the inferior Hornets. In what seems a trivial victory in the long run, at least Portland got the last laugh. If Parker ever feels bad about it, at least the six-time All-Star can cry his eyes out into hands covered in four championship rings.

Although the Portland Trail Blazers history with Tony Parker is mired in misery and defeat, at least we can now finally sit back and enjoy his legendary career in retrospect without fear of the bad man haunting our dreams ever again.