Seasoned member of the “French mafia”, Boris Diaw was present alongside Tony Parker to attend the induction of his sidekick into the Hall of Fame this weekend, despite his obligations as GM of the France team.
How could it have been otherwise? Captain Babac has been of all achievements alongside TP since Insep, between the first title at Euro U18 in 2000, their joint ascent with the Blues, and their epic in San Antonio from 2012 to 2016 crowned by a title of champion in 2014, by way of apotheosis.
Summarizing their relationship in a few sentences is obviously not a simple exercise. But if Boris Diaw had to retain something in particular, it would be the requirement and the overflowing ambition of TP which ended up making him the first French player to enter the NBA Hall of Fame.
“Since he was 16, he has continued to improve and improve every year. Even after turning professional, he still improved throughout his career. We didn’t know what his limit was, you see. He continued to improve until he became a “Hall of Famer”! », he said on the sidelines of the ceremony.
Four Hall of Famers in three years
If the international campaigns under the blue jersey marked by the title of European champion in 2013 will remain unique in their eyes, their epic with San Antonio was also exceptional as the Spurs dominated the league at that time, with two NBA finals at the key, in 2013 and 2014 alongside Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and of course Gregg Popovich, also a Hall of Fame inductee.
“It was an extraordinary time. The last three Hall of Fame promotions have featured Spurs players. So you can see how many great people have come from this great franchise.”he added.
His four seasons in San Antonio also allowed him to get to know and appreciate Gregg Popovich. If the latter has become the most successful NBA coach in history, it is not in terms of basketball that coach Pop has marked Boris Diaw the most, but rather for his proximity to the players and his approach to the game. job.
“We would come to practice and talk about what Pop had seen in the news. Usually it was about something that pissed him off. We started training with that, not to mention basketball. It allowed us to keep our feet on the ground, and I respect that.
