Do we like them?

Do we like Tony Parker?

Our score: 7 out of 10. A clean run on harm and no pattern of mistreating people in what we could confirm, but the evidence is thin and the Diddy comments are a mild smudge.

Tony Parker is the Frenchman who proved Europeans could run an NBA team. He told reporters he wanted to show Americans that French players could make it, and he did it across 18 seasons, mostly in San Antonio. He announced his retirement in June 2019 and said he would stay in San Antonio while owning and running the French club ASVEL.

Since then he has gone from boardroom to bench. In June 2026 ASVEL named him head coach while he stays club president, and he said his passion for the game remained intact. Eurohoops also reported earlier in 2026 that he planned to sell the club, though we did not confirm whether that happened.

On the harm test, we found nothing. No remarks about LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the climate turned up, no culture-war campaigning, and no slide into conspiracy theories. The searches mostly returned basketball talk, so honestly the record on his wider views is thin. We also found no sign of him working repeatedly with people who push harm.

The recent bump is the August 2026 podcast chat. Parker said he was invited to P. Diddy's parties during his playing career and always declined, because he had heard rumours. In his words, “On le savait tous”, which means everyone knew. Commenters under the coverage said people who knew should have spoken up, and the Belgian paper reported no reply from Parker.

On the good side, his Lyon project was pitched as a training centre, an educational academy for young players and a housing complex where a quarter of the units would be social housing. Parker said it was for the good of French basketball. That is a plan reported in 2015 rather than proof of what was delivered, and we found no big charity record beyond it.

So would we back him? Yes, probably. He seems a decent bloke with a long, clean basketball career, but a few searches don't make a full audit, and the Diddy comments are a small mark. We'd watch what he says and does next.