(Photo credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images)

Four-time NBA champion Tony Parker has been named head coach of the national Under-17 team in his home country of France.

The team has qualified to compete in the 2026 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Istanbul next summer.

Parker, 43, said he accepted the job as a tribute to his father, Tony Parker Sr., who passed away last month at age 70. The elder Parker had written down his dreams for his three sons.

'When I went through his notes after he passed away, one of his notes was top 10 goals for his kids,' said in an interview with Andscape. 'And when it came to me, it was coaching in the NBA and coaching the national team. That's what he put on goals for me. So, it gives me a great inspiration and great motivation to follow this dream.'

Parker said the opportunity fits his own dreams, too.

'I want to give back because I miss the court,' he told Andscape. 'I miss the adrenaline, the challenge, the drive to win something.'

A six-time All-Star, Parker won his four titles in 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. He spent his final NBA season with the Charlotte Hornets before retiring in 2019. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

He played for the French national teams from his teenage years through the Olympics. He never won an Olympic medal but won several in FIBA EuroBasket competitions.

This is the first coaching job for Parker, who said he has aspirations of coaching in the NBA or at a higher level in Europe. He told Andscape he needs to earn a mandatory coaching certificate in France and plans to shadow the coaching staffs of the New York Knicks and Real Madrid in Spain this season.

Parker already is involved in French basketball. He is the majority owner of the French basketball club LDLC ASVEL in Lyon, France, as well as of Lyon Basket Feminine, part of the French Women's Basketball League. The Tony Parker Adequat Academy in Lyon combines high school and college-level academics instruction with basketball and e-sports training.

'I felt like this is the best way to start and to honor my father,' Parker said. 'The national team was how I started my playing career, playing the European Championship when I was 14 years old. I thought it was pretty cool to start with the Under-17s, especially with everything I do in my academy, and then go with professionals.'

--Field Level Media