The San Antonio Spurs are 12-7 on the young NBA season, and that’s good for the 3rd best record in the Western Conference as of November 26th. It’s a remarkable accomplishment when you consider the fact that two of their top-3 players, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard, haven’t played a minute of basketball this season. That’s a testament to the professionalism of the San Antonio Spurs organization, and the resilience that is Gregg Popovich coached teams.
We’re just days removed from Gregg Popovich admitting that Leonard’s quad injury is unlike anything he’s ever seen before. According to Pop, Leonard’s recovery has been slow in a bizarre, unexplainable kind of way. The Spurs have continued to take it slow with Leonard, whose original return timetable has already come and gone, but despite the uncertainty around Leonard’s quad, the Spurs received some much-needed good news Sunday morning.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Spurs guard Tony Parker announced that he’d be making his 2017-18 NBA regular season debut on Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Parker hasn’t played since suffering a ruptured left quadriceps tendon during the playoffs last year in what was one of those scary non-contact injuries that always force you to fear the worst.
The #Spurs are awaiting Tony Parker's MRI results, but expectations are he will need season-ending surgery, per @WojVerticalNBA https://t.co/M0lCJuI6th
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) May 4, 2017
Parker’s Facebook post read, “I’m really excited to play again. It has been some tough months with a lot of recovery, patience and mental strength. I wanted to thank everyone who believed in my return. Fans, Family, Friends, my Recovery Team and the San Antonio Spurs, I couldn’t have done this without your support.”
HE’S BACK! Can’t wait to have you back on the court tomorrow, @tonyparker! pic.twitter.com/BTOk3RMeKg
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) November 26, 2017
It goes without saying, but this is excellent news for both the Spurs and Parker. Particularly Paker, when you consider how many athletes struggle to return from an injury that severe when you’ve been playing professional basketball for as long as Parker has. His career was in jeopardy to some degree, and it’s great to see him overcome that bump in the road.
If you’re looking for us, we’ll be over here basking in Tony Parker highlights until Monday night. There’s no better place to start than his incredible game-deciding shot over LeBron James in Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
