Smash is not actually Parker’s original name. His real name is William Henry Parker, the name “Smash” was won by him at the age of 13 in the wild field of his hometown-it was said that little Parker was so aggressive at that time, especially on the defensive end, and his steals were extremely brutal, it was described as hitting his opponent’s face with a fist (smushing somebady’s face), so his friends nicknamed him smush.
This nickname followed Parker for many years, and finally replaced his original name, which was taken all the way from junior high school high school and college to NBA. Of course, for many people, the two consecutive years of full attendance of the Lakers and the scolding with Kobe were enough to define Parker’s short NBA career. But in addition to the attention of magnesium light and the ridicule of fans, Parker is far from the simple and crude labels.
The most famous “smush” in Parker’s career was the best point guard in NBA at that time.
Now, the 41-year-old has moved towards a new goal, which is to become the fourth player in NBA history to switch to the referee.
Yes, Parker left NBA at the age of 26, but his basketball career never really ended.
* * * * * *
When he first entered NBA, Parker had already revealed his unruly side.
As a drop draft, he signed a contract with the Knight. He played 66 games in the rookie season with an average of 6.2 points, which was a good start. However, in order to welcome the arrival of Akron’s “Son of Heaven”, the team changed blood from the coaching staff to the lineup. Parker, who learned that it was difficult to rotate again, decided decisively to leave the NBA and go to the Greek league to play the main force, and help the club win the championship successfully.
“That gave me one year of professional league experience and made me more confident. I am sure that I will return to NBA. When I go back, confidence will still be there.” Parker said.
In 04, Parker led the team to win the Greek Cup-it was also a pioneer in Europe that year.
Indeed, he returned to NBA in 2004 and got the chance to join the defending champion piston. “Everyone’s attitude is extremely positive…… Everyone is very professional. There are many veterans in the team. I have learned a lot in a short period of time. I will never forget the experience of playing substitute for Chang Xi and Hunter and playing under coach Brown.” He described the piston of that year in this way.
But the reality is not as happy as he described many years later.
In fact, Parker was bullied and teased by the veteran in the piston. Rashid Wallace told a story about his dressing room. It was around Christmas 2004 when the piston group would go to the store to purchase goods during the away trip. As a result, they saw Parker visiting the Apple store alone. As a result, these old fried dough sticks also went into Apple stores to get things, and joked that Parker would pay for them.
Maybe others were joking, but Derek Coleman was serious. He took a speaker to Parker and asked him to pay for it. Parker refused.
“We went back to Detroit a few days later, and DC asked Parker in the dressing room if he had bought the speaker back. Parker said he didn’t buy it because he thought it was a joke…… So he played a trick on smash for about two weeks.” Rashid recalled.
Whether doing physical therapy or taking a bus or a team dinner, Coleman made things difficult for Parker everywhere and embarrassed him in front of everyone. “Just let smash know that the team is orderly.” Rashid said. “He always resists, then DC will always punish him and let him understand things. I thought that at last he understood, and at last he bought the speaker back.”
You know, Parker stayed in the piston for one and a half months and played 11 games. After leaving the piston, he mingled with the sun in the development league until the stretched Lakers made him “full” as the starting point guard “.
Los Angeles changed the fate of countless people in NBA, but Parker was not among them. Perhaps it was the paranoia that could not be changed. He was notorious in NBA and gradually became a joke.
Kobe’s sentence “He doesn’t deserve to play NBA” seemed to be a word. After being abandoned by the Lakers, he soon faded out of the league and began to “wander”.
According to incomplete statistics, the overseas leagues that Parker went to later include China CBA, Russia Super League, Greek first and second league, Iran Super League, Dominica National Basketball League, Mongolia National League, adriatic Champions League and North American Super Basketball League (predecessor of TBL League).
Parker playing in Mongolian League
There are glory among them (once known as “the strongest foreign aid in Guangdong history”, winning two Greek basketball cups), but more still swaying like reeds in the Wind (only playing for one month in Croatia, only 7 games were played in Tunisia. In Russia, I couldn’t adapt to the cold climate and couldn’t keep my condition. My back was injured and I was hospitalized for three months).
Even when NBA was still popular in overseas gold rush, there were very few American players like Parker who traveled all over the world. When he returned from Morocco to renew his passport at the age of 35, the government directly sent him a thickened book.
It is hard to explain what kind of mentality Parker took to go to the third world countries that Americans seldom know, and what changes those places in turn brought to his mood. But his horizon was indeed broadened. He said that he loved Greek life most because the scenery there was so beautiful; And the experience of playing in Mongolia also made him realize the progress of China’s CBA league. Before he went, his mind was full of curiosity and exploration desire, but after going there, “the experience of playing in Mongolia is definitely the worst” (this is an American teammate who took an advertisement with him in Mongolia retelling Parker’s words).
Parker in Hongyuan
Parker even said that he thought Mongolia’s professional league should follow China’s example: “(China) sends coaches to America every summer to learn American culture and American basketball. They return home at the beginning of the season, pass on American experience to players. China will even hire European and American coaches and trainers, where the league matches are growing because they bring external experience to China.”
But that was many years ago.
In fact, after leaving Guangdong, Parker’s figure was gradually out of shape and his status was declining. He didn’t want to go back to NBA too much. A few years ago, he signed up for the trial training of the Development League at his own expense of 125 dollars, but there is no chance at all.
* * * * * *
Parker’s total before-tax salary in NBA is 6.5 million us dollars. Even if he doesn’t make enough money overseas, he should not be much worse (in mongolia, his monthly salary is close to 10000 us dollars).
After returning home, he returned to his hometown of New York, rooted in the community here, and did volunteer work in the church, which also attracted media reports. He took the initiative to recognize the hatred with Kobe, but until Kobe died, they didn’t really talk about the grudge, maybe it was unbearable to look back, maybe it was unnecessary.
He never really left basketball. Even if NBA players still want to be active in the league after retirement, they will probably choose the coach and media industry, but Parker announced that he is determined to be a referee.
At present, there are only 75 active full-time judges in NBA, and the highest annual salary of those with qualifications of 20 to 30 years is about $550000. The annual salary of newly entered judges is about $250000-a high salary in the United States, but it can’t compare with NBA players, coaches and those who judge the game.
Moreover, the threshold for playing the highest level of penalty for basketball league matches is not low. Although the diploma requirement is not high, it requires a lot of working experience-starting from high and intermediate level other competitions, and taking the certificate step by step, from NCAA to G League to NBA, a large number of written tests have to be completed when submitting applications. Only after all examinations are passed can they be eligible to participate in NBA’s “Blow penalty Assessment (Officiating Assessment Test)”.
Generally, players will not consider changing careers to be referees because of low money and high pressure. But Parker said that being a referee was not a hobby or a way to return to NBA, “but my passion”.
As early as 2015, he expressed this wish to NBA and participated in a seminar to help players “re-employment” in NBA. Many years of professional league competition experience is naturally a major advantage of Parker. He has also received support from some insiders, including Bernard Bowen, the founder of basketball tournament operation organization B- Ball Referees.
Bernard Bowen, the referee guide of Parker
Bowen has been running various competitions for more than 20 years and has accumulated a lot of contacts in NBA. He is a young man in Brooklyn, Parker. He not only helped Parker train the skills of blowing penalty (such as practicing the action posture in front of the mirror, watching the live game silently and conducting real-time drills), but also introduced Parker to the NBA referee department through relationships, invite recruits from G League to inspect the level of Parker’s high school competition.
“They told me that (Parker) had reached the standard height and voice, but they still had to practice repeatedly,” Bowen said. “That is to say, more games will be punished.”
Parker sighed with emotion that it was not easy to learn all kinds of blow penalty postures with standard posture, “it was almost like dancing ballet. Every blow penalty has its standard. As a player, I am really didn’t pay attention to this side of the game.”
NBA referee is a job with great physical and mental pressure. It requires not only a keen mind and sense of smell and excellent physical condition, but also some bigotry and toughness, can accept the thankless ending-and this seems to be the portrayal of Parker’s basketball career.
Over the past few years, Parker has been a referee in the TBL league he has played for. With the accumulation of experience and confidence, he has also promoted himself on social networks more and more high-profile, until recently, it attracted reports from mainstream sports websites such as Sports Illustrated and bleachers, which brought him back to the vision of NBA fans again.
Bowen said that it was too late for Parker to train as a referee from scratch, so he needed to make more efforts. Fortunately, he has rich experience in players, contacts and platforms, and “there is a shortcut” to transfer to the professional league “.
Whether Parker can return to NBA as he wishes is still unknown. But no matter in what industry, down-to-earth struggle towards a clear goal and step by step approach, this feeling of self-value realization is reassuring, perhaps this is enough.
Parker still remembered that when he started to practice as a referee and could only play amateur games, the players would complain to him when whistle was dissatisfied: “This is also played? Did you tm play the ball?”
But soon someone told the player who played the penalty match. “He took the initiative to apply for the end and searched my name with his mobile phone,” Parker recalled.
“Then he apologized, haha.”
Welcome to our wechat public number “Houchang Village sports team” to see, there are more NBA, CBA related archaeology, comments and character content>>
(Text/kewell)