Tony Parker tells why Luka Doncic is not in European GOAT conversation / News - Basketnews.com

Parker said a player has to win an NBA championship before he can be considered as one of the greatest of all time.

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Former NBA superstar and Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade started a podcast - The Why - this week. In the first show, he invited legendary Europeans - Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, and Pau Gasol.

Luka Doncic

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As the conversation sometimes goes on among former players, it turned toward a comparison between their time and what the players of today look like. When Wade asked about who could be considered the greatest European basketball player of all time (abbreviated as GOAT), Nowitzki shared his admiration for what the superstars of today are doing.

"I'm actually more proud watching them, honestly. We know records are there to be broken, stuff always happens, somebody always comes along who's better and does better things, does more, is more athletic. It just happens, that's life. I'm actually proud watching these guys. I see Luka every day [and] the stuff he does. He will be in the conversation for a long, long time," Nowitzki said. That's when Parker interrupted him and said Doncic cannot be compared to Dirk.

"He's well on his way," the German legend said before continuing.

"Jokic, what he's been doing in this league and dominating, and now he won his ring. I'm proud watching these guys, and hopefully, they can have amazing careers from here on out. The whole debate is always tough," Nowitzki explained.

"You go back and forth all the time, it's different eras. [Detlef] Schrempf was one of my idols who had a great career. Drazen Petrovic, you mentioned [Tony] Kukoc. [Arvydas] Sabonis, actually before he got hurt, was an unbelievable player. Unfortunately, he blew his knees out. We never actually saw the best Sabonis. He would've even been the GOAT of Europe. It's always tough. It's fun for debating, but unfortunately, we'll never know. It's amazing that we're all in this conversation, and it's a humbling thing to me."

Both Wade and Nowitzki were amazed Parker wouldn't consider Doncic in the GOAT debate. The host allowed the Frenchman to explain his point of view.

"For me, to be in the conversation, you have to win a championship. That's just my personal opinion. I love [the] GOAT debate. I have GOAT debates with my brother, with my friends all the time. It's like a boat conversation, we're always debating, debating. To me, because I won a championship, if you don't understand what it takes to win a championship, I don't think you should be in the GOAT debate," Parker concluded.

Dwyane Wade's The Why podcast with Parker, Nowitzki, and Gasol:

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