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NBA History: 25 best sidekicks of all time

ByHans Themistode|
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L), Shaquille O'Neal (C) and Brian Shaw (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers joke on the bench during the final minutes in game four of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 27 May 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers beat the Spurs 111-82 to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0. AFP PHOTO/Mike NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L), Shaquille O'Neal (C) and Brian Shaw (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers joke on the bench during the final minutes in game four of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 27 May 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers beat the Spurs 111-82 to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0. AFP PHOTO/Mike NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Tony Parker
Tony Parker (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

Ranking the 25 best NBA sidekicks of all time: 6. Tony Parker

Tim Duncan has been fortunate enough to play with several great players. From David Robinson and Manu Ginobili to Kawhi Leonard towards the end of his career. All of those ballplayers were great but another name stands out to us as the best sidekick Duncan has ever had.

Tony Parker.

From 2002-2016, Duncan and Parker were practically unstoppable. But to be fair, Parker wasn’t a sidekick during their entire run together. The Frenchman’s time as Duncan’s second in command officially ended during the 2008-09 season but let’s not focus on that. We’re here to talk about Parker’s life as the second banana.

For six years, Parker was a reliable point guard for the San Antonio Spurs. He’ll never be mistaken as a sharpshooter but he practically lived in the paint and constantly churned out productive season after productive season. Parker never averaged less than 14.7 points during those six seasons and from 2006-2008, Parker averaged 18.9, 18.6, and 18.8 points per game.

In addition to two All-Star Games, Parker was also named Finals MVP in 2007, making him the perfect player next to Duncan.