By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Former NBA champion and San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker is trading his tailored executive suits for a whistle. Ahead of his highly anticipated debut as the head coach for LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne during the upcoming 2026–27 season, the French icon sat down for an unfiltered, wide-ranging interview with First Team.
Parker, 44, opened up about his sudden pivot into coaching, the immense financial hurdles facing French basketball, and his grand vision to bridge the gap between the EuroLeague and the NBA.
After ending his playing days, he admitted to feeling a deep, persistent void that only the court could truly fill.
“I’m taking immense pleasure in this,” Parker said. “It has been swirling around in my head for quite some time. I’d say for the last two or three years, I’ve had this desire to get back out on the court. I used to coach a lot at my basketball camps every summer when I was a player. But when I retired, I needed a break. Gradually, that feeling came back. I missed that adrenaline. Being a competitor, having that challenge of giving back and sharing my experience drives me. I am fueled by transmission, so I decided to pivot and throw myself into the deep end.”
NBA Europe vision, continental growth
Parker’s ambitions stretch far beyond French or even EuroLeague borders. While his agent received inquiries regarding coaching vacancies in the United States, his current focus remains on developing a powerhouse system in Europe that could eventually align directly with the NBA’s global operations.
“I’m not closing any doors, but for now, I see myself staying in Lyon for the next ten years to truly build a massive project,” he explained. “In the NBA, everything has already been established. But over here, if an agreement is reached between NBA Europe and the EuroLeague, everything is left to be built. That is incredibly exciting from an operational standpoint, and that’s why I prefer to commit myself to a project like this right now.”
The financial realities of sports ownership on the Old Continent remain complicated compared to the American franchise model.
“Making money in European sports is not easy,” Parker admitted. “That’s why the ongoing discussions between the EuroLeague and the NBA present an unbelievable, unique opportunity to finally find a real return on investment for everything I’ve poured into French basketball over the last 15 years.”
Lost budget
ASVEL made massive waves across the landscape earlier this summer with grand market announcements, only to hit a rigid regulatory wall with France’s official financial regulatory body. The club’s initially projected budget of over €60 million was slashed by nearly half, forcing a massive, sudden recalibration of their immediate EuroLeague roster goals.
“I think we are simply paying a bit for the broken pots of Monaco,” Parker stated. “The DNCG wanted to take absolutely zero risks with a project of this magnitude. I had the full agreement of our investment fund to move forward. I would have never announced those numbers or made those moves if everything hadn’t been validated. But finalizing projects like this takes time with lawyers and thousands of moving parts. With the specific guarantees the DNCG demanded, we couldn’t close it all in time to run the budget we originally planned.”
TONY PARKER, L’ENTRETIEN 🎙
On a reçu Tony Parker, désormais entraîneur-dirigeant de l’ASVEL, pour un entretien sans filtre avant le début de sa première saison sur le banc. Il revient notamment sur le fiasco du projet à 60 millions recalé par la DNCG, le départ de Sylvain… pic.twitter.com/kGGy5XHp9U
— First Team (@FirstTeam101) September 18, 2026
Despite the massive administrative setback, the newly appointed head coach refuses to let this diminish his team’s standing.
“It was frustrating because I’m on the front lines and my name gets thrown out there immediately. But I always dream big; I’m not wired like everyone else. If the big project is delayed by a year, it’s just a matter of taking a step back to bounce back stronger. Even with all the noise, we still have €6 million more than last year and we possess the largest budget in French basketball history at €25 million,” he said.
Sylvain Francisco
One of the heaviest casualties was the forced release of French star guard Sylvain Francisco. The explosive playmaker had signed a lucrative three-year deal to headline Parker’s backcourt before the DNCG ruling completely altered the club’s financial ceiling.
“Sylvain was incredible throughout the entire process,” he shared. “He truly believed in my project and wanted to return to France to help elevate our domestic basketball. We shared the exact same dream of seeing a French club win the EuroLeague. Making that phone call to tell him that everything was being pushed back by a year was incredibly tough.”
Coaching identity
As a player, Parker operated under the oversight of Gregg Popovich and Vincent Collet. Now, surrounded by an elite tactical staff of his own, including 63-year-old Collet, he is establishing an uncompromising baseline.
“My coaching style will solidify over time, but we absolutely want to play fast, modern, entertaining basketball. At the same time, I want to win, and we know you can’t win without defense. There will be a little bit of Pop, a little bit of Vincent Collet, but it will fundamentally be adapted to my own DNA and tailored to the modern game. The athletic profiles of players today mean the game moves much faster and higher than when I played early in my career,” he mentioned.
San Antonio bond
Though his daily operations are strictly rooted in Villeurbanne, Parker’s ties to the Texas organization remain completely seamless. The cultural identity of the Spurs continues to serve as the ultimate blueprint for his executive and tactical philosophies in Europe.
“I still go back to San Antonio whenever I want,” he explained. “I am entirely at home there. I even still have my own locker inside the Spurs’ practice facility. Tim [Duncan], Manu [Ginobili], and I all have our lockers kept there.”
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