Klay Thompson v. Tony Parker

[penbeast0]

With Parker going to the HOF, and assuming Klay retired today, which of these players do you feel had the greater career? (Using your own criteria)

[Johnny Tomala]

Tony Parker, he was second option on offense on most of these Spurs team and he won 2007 NBA Finals MVP. He was also the key in France winning their first international tournament - EuroBasket 2013. The only shame in Parker career is that he played that one season for Hornets. Parker was better player. There is no argument for Klay IMO.

[penbeast0]

No argument? Both create their value primarily through scoring. Thompson was the 2nd option on those Warrior teams (except for Durant's brief tenure), scores more, scores more efficiently, spaces the floor better, plays better defense, and has more than 1.5 times the TS Add in around 2/3 the minutes for career. By the numbers he's a clearly better player.

Not like Parker brings particularly good playmaking or rebounding either, he was basically a scorer. The argument for Parker is basically longevity.

[cupcakesnake]

If I'm borrowing any HOF criteria, I'd point to Parker's international career.

Now Klay has an Olympic Gold, a World Cup Gold, and a U-19 World Championship Gold. The gold medal count is more impressive, but I'm not sure how much stock to put into being on team USA. Parker has 4x Eurobasket medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) but it's kind of like comparing Robert Horry to Kevin Garnett in terms of talent and role.

Both were fairly one-dimensional offensive talents playing for dynastic teams. Those one-dimensions though (Parker's slashing and Klay's shooting) were things that they were all-time great at. Both had serious games in the playoffs where their offensive skill looked like one of the most devastating weapon in the league. Parker's final MVP came after lighting up a big strong Cavs defense to the tune of 24.5ppg on 59%ts. I also still have nightmare of Parker making Steve Kerr's Shaq experiment look like the most foolish thing ever after Parker put up nearly 30ppg in a sweep.

Klay had some insane moments too. The comeback series against OKC being the one that looms largest in my head. Also that final against Toronto, before Klay got injured... the man looked unguardable against a very strong defense (26ppg on 70%ts).

They were both pseudo first options in a decoy kind of way. Golden State would love to start games by running Klay off pin downs and seeing if he was hot tonight. Once the defense was chasing Klay a bit more, they could get into their main actions against a defense focused elsewhere. The Spurs would do something similar: they'd make teams overload against an onslaught of Tony Parker drives before countering with Manu pick & roll or Tim Duncan post-ups.

I'm not into Klay's defense and hate how overvalued one-dimensional POA defenders get by many people... but he was a better defender than Parker. Parker was routinely the weakest link by far on every Spurs team.

[Colbinii]

I also still have nightmare of Parker making Steve Kerr's Shaq experiment look like the most foolish thing ever after Parker put up nearly 30ppg in a sweep.

You gotta ask yourself if this was the caveat that led to Kerr harnessing in to pace-and-space.

[lessthanjake]

Tony Parker was better than Klay IMO, but it’s a pretty good comparison. Both were widely seen as the 2nd best player on a successful team that they were probably actually the 3rd best player on, and that has increased their standing for people a lot.

[cupcakesnake]

I also still have nightmare of Parker making Steve Kerr's Shaq experiment look like the most foolish thing ever after Parker put up nearly 30ppg in a sweep.

You gotta ask yourself if this was the caveat that led to Kerr harnessing in to pace-and-space.

I think probably, but what really made this move awful was the defense. Just completely removing the floor and letting everything fall out. For the entire SSOL era, Marion (along with usually a solid defensive SG like Raja Bell or Joe Johnson) was covering up the holes created by Amar'e and Nash. To add a whole other hole(!) in an aging Shaquille O'Neal felt like a move a fan would make, rather than an experienced NBA front office. Imagine being Tony Parker against that 2008 Suns team after battling them twice before. Suddenly there's no Marion hounding you, instead Steve Nash has to guard you on a ton of possessions. Behind Steve Nash is the clueless, stiff hipped Amar'e, and an aging Shaq with anvils for feet. Could you imagine a defense less equipped to guard Tony Parker? And it's not like this was just a bad luck matchup for the Suns. Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Allen Iverson, and Jason Terry were all in those playoffs. Those guys had to be jealous they didn't get to face the Suns in the first round.

I get that there was context. Marion was expiring, unhappy, and pretty open about his pouting. Shaq had been injured, so maybe you talk yourself into a bounce back. Shaq was probably the best talent available at the time. But man was this ever a doomed to fail roster. The Marion Suns always managed an average defense (despite their reputation at the time). The Suns played like a top 10 defense with Marion on the floor in 2008. The Shaq trade happens and they play like a below average defense with Shaq on the floor. The next full season with Shaq they drop to 26th in the league.