When Julie Allemand first walked into Lyon ASVEL’s team-building event, she wasn’t expecting anything extraordinary. She certainly wasn’t expecting him. But when she turned her head and suddenly found NBA legend Tony Parker standing right there, everything froze. “Oh… Tony Parker,” she remembers thinking — half starstruck, half in disbelief that a global icon knew who she was.
At just 22 years old, Allemand had already carved out a reputation as one of Europe’s sharpest young point guards — the kind who sees passing angles no one else notices and whose decision-making keeps entire teams upright. But behind the calm, controlled on-court presence was a story of sacrifices, tough coaches, brutal decisions, and a relentless obsession with improvement.
Her journey started in Eigenbrakel, continued through Royal Castors Braine at age 17, and nearly took a detour into biomedicine. She tried balancing college exams with elite basketball, but after a grueling January–February stretch, reality hit: she couldn’t do both. Her coach at the time, Ainars Zvirgzdins, was old-school, unforgiving, and laser-focused — for him, basketball wasn’t a sport; it was a lifestyle. And Julie had to choose.
“I told myself: you have one chance to play basketball — take it,” she recalls. She left university, switched to long-distance education, and started working toward certifications in personal training and sports nutrition. For her, studying wasn’t optional — it was mental balance. “Your brain needs work too,” she says.
But long before Lyon, sacrifices had already defined her life. At age fifteen, while playing for Sprimont, she was turning down Friday night outings to train, study, repeat. She watched friends go out while she stayed home grinding through textbooks before late practices. “It wasn’t easy,” she admits, “but they understood. And that pushed me to keep going.”
That discipline fueled a meteoric rise in France. Becoming French Champion with ASVEL wasn’t just a trophy — it was proof that her dedication could survive adversity. With seven healthy players left on the roster and a battered squad limping toward the finish line, Lyon still took down a stacked Montpellier team in the finals. “We played the final with seven players,” she says with pride. “Ending with the title was unbelievable for us.”
Suddenly, fans recognized her. Kids asked for jerseys. Young girls waited after games just to talk to her. She became the kind of role model she once searched for — the same way she saw Tony Parker when she was still a child dreaming of bigger leagues.
But the turning point — the moment she realized the NBA legend truly valued her — came in her second season. During her first year, Parker was distant. Busy. Often absent. He organized a joint men’s-and-women’s team-building event, showed up a few times early on, sent a few messages throughout the year, but that was it. The team even received Christmas gifts from him… without him being there.
Year two was different. Suddenly, he was everywhere — at practices, at games, in conversations, checking on her health, giving feedback, offering encouragement. Then came the moment she will never forget: Tony Parker stood in front of the team and delivered an emotional speech about her.
“It was touching,” she says. “We really built a different relationship.”
Now retired, Parker is fully present — in Lyon, in the gym, in players’ development. And for Allemand, having one of the greatest guards in basketball history paying this much attention is both surreal and electrifying. “Of course I want advice from him,” she says. “Our coach is great — he’s a guard, he teaches me a lot. But he’s not Tony Parker.”
Despite her humility, her ambitions remain sky-high. ASVEL is fighting for Euroleague success, aiming for a spot in the Final Four. She wants that title — badly. But her ultimate dream sits across the Atlantic: the WNBA.
“It’s my biggest dream,” she says softly. “But I know you have to be ready — physically and mentally. It’s not easy. You have to give everything.”
Her hunger isn’t new. She still remembers one of the defining moments of her youth career — the U16 semifinals against France. The score was tied. Three seconds left. She didn’t even believe her shot would go in. But it did. And it qualified Belgium for the U17 World Championship. “I’ll never forget that moment,” she says.
Now she looks toward the future — Euroleague challenges, personal growth, and a national team dream she has already manifested out loud. She joked that playing the European Championship final on her birthday would be the best gift anyone could give her. Gold would be incredible. Silver would sting, but still be historic.
Every choice she has made — from quitting biomedicine, to sacrificing teenage nights out, to choosing basketball over everything — has led her to this moment, standing between who she was and the superstar she could become.
And with Tony Parker now in her corner, watching, advising, and believing…
Julie Allemand is no longer just a rising star.
She is a storm gathering speed.
Leave a Reply