Tony Parker on Tim Duncan: 'He didn't talk to me for a whole year' as rookie

The trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and don't forget head coach Gregg Popovich, have functioned like a well-oiled machined since day one. You don't win more games than almost any other threesome in league history without some chemistry.

But it wasn't all high fives and hugs in 2001-02, year three of the "Duncan Era" but the first that included a young French rookie in Parker.

"He didn't talk to me for a whole year," Parker told ESPN on Monday.

It was kind of weird coming from France and you have your superstar player that doesn't talk to you as a point guard, it's kind of tough, you know? Because you're supposed to talk to everybody. But as we grew together in the league and he trusted me more, I can really say it's a special relationship because I feel close to him on the court. But even off the court, we've both been through a lot of stuff throughout our career so I think it got us closer.

Parker indicated that he never truly felt comfortable speaking up until after they won a title together in 2003. The titles in 2005 and 2007 probably helped bring them all closer together, too, and another in 2014 would prove a nice bow on their time together.

Or maybe Duncan will hold a grudge for Parker winning the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, who knows?