Best friends Tony Parker, Boris Diaw share the Olympic spirit for France
RIO DE JANEIRO – Boris Diaw snores.
Tony Parker knows this because, well, he knows everything there is to know about Boris Diaw. They are best friends, these 34-year-old Frenchmen who started running breaks together nearly two decades ago.
Parker knows Diaw loves his espresso (Roma brand only, of course); Diaw kept his own espresso maker inside the San Antonio Spurs locker room they shared the past few seasons, and now has one in the three-bedroom, six-person athletes’ village apartment where they’re rooming together at the Olympics. He knows Diaw better than anyone on the court, too, where France – which heads into Sunday’s showdown against Team USA with a 3-1 record – is trying to medal in the Games for the first time since these kindred spirits came on the scene.
You may not find closer pals in Rio than Diaw and Parker, who first played together in their mid-teens and have joined forces on youth teams, senior national teams and NBA teams ever since. Parker had just become a French citizen when they first met, having adopted the country as his own after growing up in France with parents of American and Dutch descent (his African-American father played professionally overseas). Diaw was the crafty French kid with the celebrated heritage, his mother, Elizabeth Riffiod, having been one of the best national team players of all time. And in light of the changing circumstances that surround them – this will be their last Olympics together, and Diaw recently signed with the Utah Jazz – these are days to cherish.
“It’s awesome,” Parker, one month older than Diaw, said. “I’ve been with Boris for my whole international career, and it’s been great. We’re having fun, and enjoying every moment. It’s my last one, and I have a great team, great teammates, so just trying to fight for a medal.”
While loving the experience every step of the way.
Diaw set quite the tone for this excursion back in December, when he wrote a letter to Parker on a French web site that set the stage for what is likely their last hoops adventure. He told old stories about their time together, shared his appreciation for all Parker had done.
"Destins Croises,” the headline read. Translated, it means “Shared Destinies.”
“Tony is like a brother to me,” wrote Diaw, who didn’t play with Parker in the NBA until joining the Spurs in 2011 and won a championship with him in 2014. “We’ve now got the Olympic Games in Rio coming, a very special event where we have the chance to round off our respective careers on a high.”
They’re on their way now. And considering France’s national team history, just getting here was an accomplishment.
France's last medal was silver in the 2000 Games in Sydney, just before Parker arrived with the kind of speed and elite scoring skills to usher in a new era. But France failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2004 and 2008, and the status of his legacy thereafter depended on which crowd you asked.
In a way, it was the opposite of the Carmelo Anthony narrative that Americans know well. For Parker it is success in the NBA (titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007) and bitter disappointment in international play. France returned to the Games in London four years ago, but finished sixth.
“After all the years, you appreciate how hard it is,” Diaw said. “It’s only my second Olympics – I missed it twice, couldn’t qualify – so we know how hard it is to get to the Olympics. … Once you’re here you know how hard it is to get to the last four teams and try to get a medal.”
France has bounced back nicely since getting blown out by Australia in its Olympics opener 87-66, downing China 88-60, Serbia 76-75 and Venezuela 96-56. The win over Serbia was the most substantive, not only because of what the Serbs went on to do (nearly upsetting Team USA on Friday) but also because it included a turn-back-the-clock moment for Parker. With 31 seconds left in regulation and a defender chasing him to the left side of the floor, Parker hit a fade-away rainbow jumper that eventually won it 76-75.
The hope, of course, is there are more memories to come in this tournament before they're done. A medal, no matter the color, would fill the only void left in their friendship.