PARIS (France) - There will be royalty roaming the sidelines at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026 as Tony Parker was named as the head coach of the France team. The FIBA EuroBasket 2013 winner and four-time NBA champion will be making his coaching debut next summer in Türkiye.
The French federation FFBB made the announcement to tip off preparations for the cadet global championship, which runs from June 27 to July 5, 2026 in Istanbul. The French will be aiming to improve on their disappointing ninth placed finish from 2024 after taking second place in 2018 and third place in 2022.
And the FFBB has put its trust in the hands of one of the country's most successful stars in Parker, who has yet to hold to coaching position in his career. The 43-year-old is the current owner of the French club LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.
I see it as an honor
"I’m excited about this project. I see it as an honor that the FFBB chose me. It’s a mark of respect, and I want to thank them for their trust," Parker said in an interview with L'Equipe. "In any profession, when you're starting out, someone has to give you your first chance. They know I'm serious and disciplined. When I take on a challenge - especially one like this - I give it everything I've got."
Parker was the leader of the French national team for more than a decade. In addition to the EuroBasket crown in 2013 as Most Valuable Player, he helped Les Bleus to second place on the continent in 2011 and third place in 2005 and 2015. All told, Parker played in eight EuroBaskets and two Olympics.
The point guard was also the one of faces of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, helping the club to the NBA crown in 2003, 2005, 2007 (he also was Finals MVP that year) and 2014.
His No. 9 jersey was retired by both the Spurs and the French federation. Victor Wembanyama definitely has the talent to one day challenge him for the crown, but for now, TP is still the GOAT of French basketball.
Parker first hinted his interest in coaching a couple of months ago, telling L'Equipe: "I mentioned it back in August - this desire to pivot, to take a new direction in my career. I've been thinking about coaching for two years now; I keep telling myself it's the next step for me. I miss being on the court, the adrenaline, the challenge. That's why I decided to start earning my coaching qualifications."
Parker said he had talked about how to begin his coaching career with his father Tony Parker Sr. who died on October 5.
"It just made sense, to both of us, to start with the French national team, and specifically with a youth team. So I applied for the France U17 coaching job. And, as fate would have it, on my father's birthday - October 15 - the French Basketball Federation called to tell me I got the job," he said.
"They told me they were very impressed with how I handled my first training sessions and everything I did during August and September. To them, that was enough. They felt I was the right person to lead this U17 project."
Parker is extra excited about next summer because it is a World Cup, something he never got to play at during his career.
"I thought it would be an exciting challenge. It's also a great generation of players like Aaron Towo-Nansi (from Cholet) and Nathan Soliman (of INSEP/Pole France)," he said about why wanting to coach next summer already.
Parker said this is just the beginning of his next career and he said back in August, that one of his coaching dream would be to lead one day the French senior national team.
FIBA