In between all the laughter and high-fives, Tony Parker took a very Spurs-like tone with the participants at his youth basketball camp.

“He told us to play collectively, to play together as a team,” said 13-year-old Fantine Smagghe, who, like Parker, hails from France.

Consider it a rehearsal of sorts for what Parker will be doing at training camp in a few months.

With Tim Duncan gone and 15 seasons under his belt, Parker is now the senior Spur in terms of longevity with the team and eager to take on an increased leadership role in the absence of the “Big Fundamental.”

“I’m just going to try to be a good leader and welcome all the new guys,” Parker, 34, said Tuesday. “I’m going to try to help them as much as I can and just show them the Spurs culture and what we do here.”

In making his first public comments in San Antonio since Duncan retired this month after 19 seasons, Parker stressed that despite that monumental loss and an influx of young newcomers, the Spurs “are still going to have a great team.”

“Obviously, we are going to miss him a lot,” the four-time NBA champion point guard said of Duncan. “You can’t replace a guy like Timmy. But we will try to do our best to keep the Spurs going and to keep winning.”

Speaking at the Alamo City Sportsplex after playing an hour’s worth of three-on-three games with campers, Parker indicated he is still trying to come to terms with the departure of the franchise standard bearer.

“He was the greatest power forward of all time,” Parker said of Duncan. “He made my job easy every night.”

Parker said he wasn’t surprised Duncan called it a career, although he believes “Old Man River Walk” “could have played forever.”

In addition to Duncan, the Spurs will also be without Parker’s longtime friend, Boris Diaw, who was traded to Utah in a move to clear salary cap space for the signing of free agent center Pau Gasol.

“It’s definitely going to be a big change, definitely going to miss them,” Parker said of Duncan and Diaw. “It’s definitely going to be a different season next year.”

But Parker is eager to play with Gasol, who he called a “great basketball player with a lot of knowledge.”

“He’s a perfect fit for our team,” Parker said of Gasol, a two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and a six-time All-Star, including the last two seasons with Chicago.

Parker and Gasol, a native of Spain, will see each other soon at the Olympics in Rio, where they will lead their respective countries’ men’s basketball team.

“I’ve been playing against him forever,” said Parker, who noted he was 14 years old the first time he squared off against Gasol, another 15-year NBA veteran.

Other newcomers Parker will greet at camp include 19-year-old guard Dejounte Murray, the team’s first-round pick who transitions to the pros after one season at the University of Washington.

Parker said he talked to Murray on the phone after the Spurs drafted him 29th overall in June.

“I can’t wait to get to camp and see what he can give us,” Parker said.

Other new faces include sharpshooting big man Davis Bertans, shot blocker Dewayne Dedmon and forward Livio Jean-Charles, who played for Parker’s French-owned team

In addition to Duncan and Diaw, the Spurs also lost backups David West and Boban Marjanovic to free agency after winning a club-record 67 games.

While Parker believes it will take time for the Spurs to build chemistry after all the changes, he is confident they will come together for their 20th consecutive playoff appearance. It would be the Spurs’ first postseason run without Duncan since the 1995-96 team advanced to the Western Conference finals after finishing 59-23 in the regular season under then-coach Bob Hill.

“I think it’s going to be a lot different because we have a lot of young guys, so it’s going to take us some time for us to jell,” Parker said. “But they are great basketball players and they have some knowledge and they know how to play.

“Hopefully, they can get it fast and we can have another great season.”

torsborn@express-news.net