Early career While Parker was not drafted out of college, he played with the
Orlando Magic in the
NBA Summer League in Orlando, against the
Boston Celtics in Boston, before travelling west to play against the
Toronto Raptors whilst being a player for the
Utah Jazz in Utah. He was then invited by the
Cleveland Cavaliers to attend their vet camp and the team finally signed him for the
2002–03 season. In 2003, Parker signed with
Aris Thessaloniki of the
Greek League (
FIBA Europe) and helped the team win the 2004
Greek Basketball Cup in the final against
Olympiacos. He returned to the NBA in 2004 and played for the
Detroit Pistons and the
Phoenix Suns.
Los Angeles Lakers (2005-2007) He then signed a contract with the
Los Angeles Lakers during the summer of 2005. Not well-known entering the 2005 season, Parker gained recognition as the starting
point guard for the Lakers under coach
Phil Jackson. While many experts thought that either newly signed veteran
Aaron McKie or
Sasha Vujačić would start at point guard, Parker became the surprise starter in the Lakers' season opener against the
Denver Nuggets and went on to score at least 20 points in four of his first five games. This impressed Jackson, and Parker found himself in the starting line-up for the Lakers. From 2005 until 2007, Parker started 162 straight games, averaging 11.5 points. During the last two games of the regular season and the playoffs (2006–2007), Parker lost his starting spot to rookie
Jordan Farmar. While with the Lakers, Parker clashed with
Kobe Bryant. Bryant singled out Parker as a bad teammate, saying in 2012 that Parker "shouldn't have been in the NBA, but [the Lakers] were too cheap to pay for a point guard." Parker would later detail how Bryant was a bad teammate, and after Bryant's death in 2020, confirmed that the two men had never reconciled their differences.
Later NBA and overseas career On July 26, 2007, Parker signed with the
Miami Heat. For the Heat, Parker wore jersey number 21. His production dropped off dramatically while with the Heat, with averages of 4.8 points, 1.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds, compared to his 11.1 in 164 games with the Los Angeles Lakers. On March 10, 2008, the
Miami Heat officially waived Parker. The
Los Angeles Clippers then signed him for the rest of the season on March 12, 2008. In the 2008 offseason, Parker was signed by the Denver Nuggets but was released on October 23, 2008, as the Nuggets trimmed their roster to the league-allowed 15. He then played with the
Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the
NBA Development League. Parker never played in the NBA after the 2007 - 2008 season with the Clippers and thus his final NBA game ever was played on April 16, 2008, in a 75 - 93 loss to the
Houston Rockets. In his final game, Parker recorded 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. On January 9, 2009, Parker officially signed with
Guangdong Southern Tigers of the
Chinese Basketball Association. In September 2010, he signed a one-year contract with the Russian club
Spartak Saint Petersburg. In January 2011, he returned to Greece and signed a contract with
Iraklis Thessaloniki. In January 2012, Parker signed with
Petrochimi Bandar Imam of the
Iranian Basketball Super League. He later played in Venezuela, then signed with the
Indios de San Francisco de Macorís of the Dominican Republic. In December 2012, Parker signed with
Cibona Zagreb of the Adriatic Basketball Association. After only 5 games in
Adriatic League, Parker was released. In March 2013, he returned to Greece and signed a contract with
Peristeri of the
Greek League. In January 2014, he signed with his former team
Guaros de Lara. He left the team that March. In June, Parker played in
The Basketball Tournament. His team reached the semi-finals, and Parker's averages for the tournament were 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game. In February 2015, Parker signed with Mon-Altius Madimos Falcons of the Mongolian National Basketball Association (MNBA). He averaged 24 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4.1 steals per game. On November 30, 2017, Parker signed with the
Albany Patroons of the
North American Premier Basketball. ==NBA career statistics==