# Anthony Parker
**Anthony Parker** (Anthony Michael Parker, born 1975) is an American basketball executive and former professional player who is the general manager of the [Orlando Magic](https://www.edgepedia.org/orlando-magic) of the NBA, and who as a player became one of the most decorated Americans in European basketball, winning two [EuroLeague](https://www.edgepedia.org/euroleague) championships and two EuroLeague MVP awards with Maccabi Tel Aviv between 2000 and 2006.[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf) He should not be confused with the French point guard [Tony Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-parker), his contemporary in the NBA.[2](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975; height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[3](https://www.nba.com/player/1515/anthony-parker) |
| Draft | New Jersey Nets, first round (21st overall), 1997 NBA Draft[4](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parkean01.html) |
| NBA playing career | 494 regular season games (423 starts) over nine seasons (1997-2000, 2006-12) with Philadelphia, Orlando, Toronto and Cleveland; 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game, .404 on three-pointers[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf) |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (2000-02, 2003-06) | Five Israeli Super League championships, five Israeli National Cups, two EuroLeague titles (2004, 2005), one FIBA SuproLeague title (2001)[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf) |
| Individual honors | EuroLeague MVP 2004-05 and 2005-06; EuroLeague Final Four MVP 2004; EuroLeague All-Decade Team (2001-2010)[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf) • [5](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/top-lists/676104/euroleague-the-10-golden-members-of-the-hall-of-fame/8/) • [13](https://admin.euroleague.net/main/results/showgame?gamecode=229&seasoncode=E2004) • [14](https://mediacentre.euroleague.net/en/app/2/communication/communication/preview/24140) |
| EuroLeague record | Best career index of all time, an average of 21.4 index points; 114 EuroLeague games for Maccabi with 1,804 points[6](https://maccabi.co.il/en/maccabi-salutes-anthony-parker/) • [7](https://maccabi.co.il/en/parker-released-to-toronto-raptors/) |
| Executive career | Orlando Magic scout (2012-17), Lakeland Magic general manager (2017-21, 2020-21 G League champion), Magic assistant general manager (2021-23), Magic general manager since July 2023[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf) |
## College career
Parker played four seasons at [Bradley University](https://www.edgepedia.org/bradley-university) from 1993 to 1997. He finished as one of only two players in school history, alongside Hersey Hawkins, to rank in the school's top 10 all-time in scoring (1,683 points, eighth), assists (355, ninth), steals (159, seventh) and blocked shots (78, fifth). He was named Most Valuable Player of the [Missouri Valley Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/missouri-valley-conference) after his junior season (1995-96) and was named to Bradley's All-Century basketball team in 2003. As a chemistry major he twice received the Major Robert H. Lawrence Jr. Scholarship, given annually to an African-American student doing outstanding work in chemistry, before switching to liberal arts and science in his senior year.[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf)
## Early NBA years
The New Jersey Nets selected Parker in the first round of the 1997 draft, 21st overall, and traded him before he ever played a game for them. Over the next three seasons he battled injuries and appeared in just 55 games with the [Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-76ers) and Orlando Magic before being cut.[4](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parkean01.html) • [8](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/anthony-parker-excited-about-new-challenge) After a short stint in the now-defunct Continental Basketball League, he moved to Israel for what he expected to be a single season abroad.[8](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/anthony-parker-excited-about-new-challenge)
## Maccabi Tel Aviv and European stardom
Parker joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in the summer of 2000, two and a half years after the draft, and quickly became a fan favorite at the Yad Eliyahu arena with his three-point shooting and dunking. In his first two seasons the club won the SuproLeague title in 2001 and a pair of Israeli championships. He then left for Italy, joining Virtus Roma for the second part of the season, but returned to [Tel Aviv](https://www.edgepedia.org/tel-aviv) in September 2003 for three more seasons.[7](https://maccabi.co.il/en/parker-released-to-toronto-raptors/)
Across five seasons with Maccabi, the team reached five EuroLeague Final Fours and won three European titles: the FIBA SuproLeague championship in 2001 and the EuroLeague championships in 2004 and 2005. Parker was voted EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2004, was named EuroLeague MVP in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, and was twice the Israeli Super League MVP.[13](https://admin.euroleague.net/main/results/showgame?gamecode=229&seasoncode=E2004) • [14](https://mediacentre.euroleague.net/en/app/2/communication/communication/preview/24140) In 114 EuroLeague games for the club he scored 1,804 points, and he also won five Israeli Super League championships and five National Cups (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006).[7](https://maccabi.co.il/en/parker-released-to-toronto-raptors/) • [1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf) Maccabi's own tribute credits him with the best career index in EuroLeague history, an average of 21.4 index points.[6](https://maccabi.co.il/en/maccabi-salutes-anthony-parker/)
Two moments stand out in the record. In a EuroLeague game at Astroballe on November 18, 2004, Parker posted a performance index rating of 47 and made 13 two-point shots, both still Maccabi club records.[9](https://mediacentre.euroleague.net/uploads/EuroleagueCore/pastmatchups/game17770.pdf) And in October 2005 he made the game-winning shot in the final second of Maccabi's 105-103 preseason win over the [Toronto Raptors](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-raptors) at the Air Canada Centre, a performance that registered with NBA observers ahead of his return to the league.[8](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/anthony-parker-excited-about-new-challenge) • [10](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/isr-parker-agrees-raptors-move)
He wore number 18, in Israel and later in the NBA, because in Jewish numerology the number signifies life and good fortune; Parker said he chose it to keep representing Israel after leaving the country.[6](https://maccabi.co.il/en/maccabi-salutes-anthony-parker/) • [8](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/anthony-parker-excited-about-new-challenge)
## Return to the NBA
In July 2006, at age 31 and still under contract with Maccabi for 2006-07, Parker asked the club to release him so he could sign with the Toronto Raptors, and Maccabi granted the request.[7](https://maccabi.co.il/en/parker-released-to-toronto-raptors/) In his first Toronto season he ranked fourth in the NBA in three-point shooting accuracy and helped the Raptors reach the playoffs for the first time in the franchise's five-year existence.[8](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/anthony-parker-excited-about-new-challenge) He played six more NBA seasons, splitting time between Toronto and the [Cleveland Cavaliers](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland-cavaliers), and finished with career averages of 9.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting .404 from three-point range. In 22 playoff games he averaged 10.9 points in 34.9 minutes.[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf)
## Executive career
Parker moved into management with the Orlando Magic, working as a college and international scout for five seasons (2012-17). In 2017 he became general manager of the Lakeland Magic, Orlando's NBA G League affiliate, where the club recorded 94 regular season victories over his four seasons, tied for the most in the G League in that span, and won the 2020-21 G League championship. He returned to Orlando as assistant general manager for two seasons (2021-23) and was named general manager of the Magic in July 2023. In his first season as general manager, Orlando went 47-35, reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020, won the 2023-24 Southeast Division title, and improved by 13 wins, the largest improvement in the Eastern Conference.[1](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf)
## Family and recognition
Parker is the older brother of [Candace Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/candace-parker), the WNBA star; their father, Larry, played college basketball at Iowa, and their younger brother Marcus became a doctor. The family came from [Naperville, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/naperville-illinois).[8](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/anthony-parker-excited-about-new-challenge) Maccabi Tel Aviv inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2016, and the EuroLeague named him to its All-Decade Team for 2001-2010 and later to its 25-of-25 list of the best players of the competition's first 25 seasons.[11](https://maccabi.co.il/en/anthony-parker-cant-wait-to-see-the-fans-again/) • [5](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/top-lists/676104/euroleague-the-10-golden-members-of-the-hall-of-fame/8/) • [12](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/los-25-de-25-de-la-euroliga-al-completo-ginobili-rudy-navarro-los-sergios-n/)
## References
1. [Anthony Parker, Orlando Magic Summer League Guide 2024 (NBA.com)](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612753/2024/07/orlando-magic-summer-league-guide-2024.pdf)
2. [Tony Parker Stats, Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parketo01.html)
3. [Anthony Parker, Guard, Toronto Raptors, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/player/1515/anthony-parker)
4. [Anthony Parker Stats, Basketball-Reference.com](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/parkean01.html)
5. [EuroLeague: The 10 "golden" members of the Hall of Fame, Eurohoops](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/top-lists/676104/euroleague-the-10-golden-members-of-the-hall-of-fame/8/)
6. [Maccabi salutes Anthony Parker, Maccabi Tel Aviv](https://maccabi.co.il/en/maccabi-salutes-anthony-parker/)
7. [Parker released to Toronto Raptors, Maccabi Tel Aviv](https://maccabi.co.il/en/parker-released-to-toronto-raptors/)
8. [Anthony Parker Excited About New Challenge, Orlando Magic (NBA.com)](https://www.nba.com/magic/news/anthony-parker-excited-about-new-challenge)
9. [Past Match-Ups & Game Notes: LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Euroleague Media Centre](https://mediacentre.euroleague.net/uploads/EuroleagueCore/pastmatchups/game17770.pdf)
10. [ISR - Parker agrees Raptors move, FIBA Basketball](https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/isr-parker-agrees-raptors-move)
11. [Anthony Parker: "Can't wait to see the fans again", Maccabi Tel Aviv](https://maccabi.co.il/en/anthony-parker-cant-wait-to-see-the-fans-again/)
12. [Los 25 de 25 de la Euroliga, al completo, AS](https://as.com/baloncesto/euroliga/los-25-de-25-de-la-euroliga-al-completo-ginobili-rudy-navarro-los-sergios-n/)
13. [admin.euroleague.net](https://admin.euroleague.net/main/results/showgame?gamecode=229&seasoncode=E2004)
14. [mediacentre.euroleague.net](https://mediacentre.euroleague.net/en/app/2/communication/communication/preview/24140)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › NBA players, 1996–2010 › NBA guards, 1996–2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license