With all the hardware Tony Parker has racked up over the past several years playing for the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, it’s the latest addition to his collection - his wedding ring - that’s on his mind.
Parker, just back from a honeymoon with actress-wife Eva Longoria, said the band will take some getting used to.
“It’s weird, it’s weird,” Parker said Tuesday night. “I don’t wear rings. … The only ring that I was wearing is our championship rings, but you only wear that maybe two times, three times maybe. So I have to get used to it.”
Parker, 25, and Longoria, 32, married in a civil ceremony July 6 in Paris. The next day, a priest married them in a church across from the Louvre Museum, followed by an exclusive bash at a storied French chateau.
Parker said it was only on his recent honeymoon that he was able to reflect on what has been a banner year. Parker won his third championship with the Spurs, was named MVP of the finals and then exchanged vows with “Desperate Housewives” star Longoria.
“I can’t complain. I feel very blessed. It was an unbelievable year for me and for the team. And it was just great. It’s hard for me to put (in) words and explain,” said Parker, who was at a premiere party for a DVD chronicling the Spurs’ run to their fourth championship in nine seasons.
“When I was on the honeymoon I finally sat down and tried to realize what we accomplished, and me personally. But it’s still hard. I just think I’m going to realize that later on. When you look at your career, I’m going to say, ‘Man, 2007, it was a great year,’” Parker added.
Parker said Longoria - in a silk wool and silk gazar scoop-back mermaid gown embroidered with silver metallic designed by Angel Sanchez - looked “amazing” and “beautiful” on their wedding day and that the event was unbelievable.
Besides his ring, Parker is also getting accustomed to the ever-present paparazzi.
“It’s not like Brad Pitt, or Britney Spears. It’s not that bad. And when we’re in San Antonio it’s OK,” he said. “It’s more for Eva, it’s not me. I’m just there holding hands, they take pictures. It’s her world.”
And as for his ring, Parker said he’ll do his best to keep track of it before and after games.
“A lot of my teammates told me they lost it like five or six times,” Parker said. “So I’m going to try to lose it only one or two times.”