Tony Parker's first season as a professional head coach comes with a familiar face.
Parker, now the head coach of ASVEL Villeurbanne in France, could not hide his excitement when he saw his former San Antonio Spurs teammate Patty Mills walk into the team's practice facility.
Even thousands of miles away in the Philippines, where Parker recently visited, he lit up when talking about Mills, who is now the new face of ASVEL.
"Man, I'm super happy," Parker said at NBA House Philippines.
"I was super happy when I saw him arrive.
"It was almost like a surreal moment, you know, when I saw him come into the training center, and I saw his face with the ASVEL jersey, I was like, wow, that's crazy."
Parker took over as ASVEL's head coach in June, adding coaching duties to his long-standing role as the club's president and majority owner.
Mills, meanwhile, became Parker's biggest signing of the offseason, joining ASVEL on a one-year deal that will mark his EuroLeague debut.
The two spent nine seasons together in San Antonio, with Parker serving as the starting point guard and Mills developing as his backup and protege.
Together, they won the 2014 NBA championship, beating the Miami Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
For the coming season, the former Spurs guards are trying to bring that winning formula to France.
Parker focused on running ASVEL as an executive after retiring in 2019, but the pull of the court never disappeared.
He spent roughly two years preparing for the transition into coaching and officially completed his French coaching licenses along the way.
"I was missing the court, the everyday thing, and the connection with the players, and so I wanted to pivot, and I'm so happy with my decision," Parker said.
"I had a great experience this summer with the national team. I'm excited. I'm really excited."
Parker's biggest objective as a rookie coach is to establish a winning culture at ASVEL, much like he experienced during his 17 seasons with the Spurs.
Parker won four NBA championships alongside Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and a generation of players shaped by Gregg Popovich.
Now, Parker wants to pass those lessons on to his French club.
"When you want to build something, you have to put in the culture," Parker said.
"And the stuff that I want to put in place, I know Patty is going to be all in. He's going to be our leader, and so it's great to have him in Lyon.
"I know he's going to have my back, and we have the same philosophy and the way we see basketball."
The Australian guard spent 10 seasons with San Antonio and played under Popovich, making him one of the few players on Parker's roster who understands firsthand what that culture demands.
Parker has also been deliberate in preparing himself for the job.
In January, he attended a New York Knicks practice and was later spotted courtside at Madison Square Garden.
He took a delegation of ASVEL coaches with him to observe and study the Knicks' systems and preparation under former Spurs assistant coach Mike Brown.
The experience became an important piece of Parker's coaching education before he made his head coaching debut with France's under-17 national team at the FIBA U17 World Cup in the summer and eventually took over ASVEL.
Coincidentally, the Knicks went on to win the NBA championship in June, defeating a Spurs team led by French wunderkind Victor Wembanyama.
"I definitely want to go that direction and see how I can take a program and build it up," Parker said, referring to the Spurs' sustained success.
That blueprint starts with the legendary "Coach Pop."
As San Antonio's starting point guard, Parker saw up close how Popovich turned the Spurs into one of the NBA's most consistent championship contenders.
Parker's post-NBA path is also remarkably similar.
Popovich served as the Spurs' executive vice-president of basketball operations and general manager beginning in 1994 before becoming head coach in 1996.
He stepped down as general manager in 2002 and went on to build one of the greatest coaching careers in NBA history before retiring in 2025.
"[Pop] was amazing, one of the best, obviously, in the history," Parker said.
"His approach to the game, his work ethic, the way that he connected with players and how he got the best out of the players every day, night in, night out, coming every year, was amazing.
"It's very hard, you know, to be good for a long, long time, and his approach and his work ethic was amazing, and so that's why we were so good. He was a great leader.
"Now, we can spread the knowledge that he gave us, and so that's why I want to coach now, and try to do the same thing."
Parker now faces that same challenge at ASVEL, a team that finished fourth in the French league last season with a 20-10 record but was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
The club also suffered early exits in the LNB Leaders Cup and French Basketball Cup.
Meanwhile, ASVEL finished last in the EuroLeague with an 8-30 record last season.
Parker also faces the added challenge of rebuilding with a reduced budget.
Financial constraints forced ASVEL to scale back its expected spending for the coming season, leading to departures that included former NBA players Daniel Theis and Armoni Brooks.
The team also moved on from Sylvain Francisco, a 28-year-old guard who reportedly drew interest from the Chicago Bulls this offseason.
Still, Parker has pieces to work with.
Mills headlines a veteran group that also includes ex-NBA players TyTy Washington, Joel Bolomboy and Jae Crowder.
"It's going to be a great story, especially if we win a championship," Parker said.
For now, Parker is betting on the lessons he learned from Popovich, the culture he experienced with the Spurs, and the players who understand what it takes to build something lasting.
Parker knows ASVEL is not San Antonio, but his first season on the sidelines could become the beginning of something special if he can summon a little of that Spurs magic in France.
"It's only the beginning, and now I'm looking forward to the future with ASVEL," Parker said.
