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SALT LAKE CITY — In 2014, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Jabari Parker with the second-overall pick in the NBA draft.
At the time, Parker was brimming with potential. Expectations were high for the freshman out of Duke, who was a consensus First Team All-American, First Team All-ACC member and USBWA National Freshman of the Year.
He was primed to be a star in the NBA, being drafted in between Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid in what many considered one of the deepest drafts in recent history.
The 6-foot-8 forward seemed perfect for the modern NBA style of play. Weighing 250 pounds, Parker was big enough and bulky enough to guard bigger players in the low post, while also being a nightmare for them on the offensive end of the floor.
Parker had the ability to handle the ball and cross over larger defenders while also being able to take smaller defenders into the post and pound them down low.
While not an outstanding 3-point shooter, at 36 percent Parker had the ability to use the long ball to help keep defenses honest in their attempt to stop him from getting to the rim.
Parker looked like an amazing offensive talent and the Bucks were looking forward to developing and building their team with him.
Things started off great for Parker in his first season. While he didn't throw out crazy numbers, Parker was solid in his first month as an NBA player, being named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the month of October/November.
Right after this, Parker experienced his first of many unfortunate setbacks. On Dec. 15, 2014, Parker tore the ACL in his left knee in a game against the Phoenix Suns. This caused Parker to miss the rest of his rookie campaign. Parker played in just 25 games during his rookie season.
After missing the first four games of the season due to the ACL tear from the previous season, Parker was relatively healthy for the 2015-2016 season, playing in 76 of a possible 82 games. Parker averaged 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game on the season and played in the NBA Rising Stars Challenge.
During the 2016-2017 season, Parker took a major step forward in his career. He jumped to 20.1 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game. He also brought his 3-point shooting percentage up to 36.5 percent, a major increase from 25.7 percent the previous year.
Parker was finally starting to reach some of his potential when something went terribly wrong. On Feb. 8, against the Miami Heat, Parker tore the ACL in his left knee for the second time.
Parker missed the remainder of the season, and the first three and a half months of this season. After coming back, Parker was on a minutes restriction, and for the first time in his career was regularly coming off the bench rather than starting.
Things took a turn for the worse for Parker in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics. Parker played just 25 minutes and scored only two points in the first two games of the series, both of which the Bucks lost.
Parker was vocally upset about his lack of playing time under interim head coach Joe Prunty. This was the first playoff experience for Parker, who was injured during the 2015 and 2017 Bucks playoff runs.
After Parker’s comments, he continued to come off the bench, but his playing time and production increased significantly.
Through the next five games of the series, Parker averaged 28.4 minutes per game, averaging 13.6 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field. The Bucks did win three of the next five games but ultimately lost the series. Parker had an average plus-minus of -2.3 for the series. Here is a look at Parker’s advanced stats for the series.
Next season, Parker will be a restricted free agent. Questions circle the team about whether Parker can play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has developed into one of the top players in the league.
Antetokounmpo has developed into a somewhat similar version of what the Bucks initially envisioned when drafting Parker, only longer and taller. The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo is one of the primary ball-handlers and playmakers for Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo also dominates smaller defenders in the post. What Antetokounmpo is doing is a heightened version of what the Bucks initially expected with Parker.
The Bucks have struggled with floor spacing while playing Parker and Antetokounmpo together. Antetokounmpo is just a 28 percent career 3-point shooter, and Parker, while a better 3-point shooter, is not an excellent outside shooter nor a volume 3-point shooter.
The combination of playing the two together has enabled defenses to key in on defending the paint due to the lack of floor spacing.
The Bucks have experimented by playing Antetokounmpo at the five and Parker at the four to help add more shooters to the floor. Playing large minutes without a traditional big may not be sustainable for the Bucks going forward.
With questions remaining regarding the future of Parker in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo made it extremely clear in his exit interview that he doesn’t want Parker leaving.
“Jabari ain’t going nowhere,” Antetokounmpo said.
His thoughts on Parker start around the two-minute mark.
Parker is not the only young player in the league that has battled major injuries. Philadelphia’s Markelle Fultz, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have all been through major injuries in their young careers.
Fultz, the first overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft, missed the first 68 games of this season due to an injured shoulder.
Simmons, the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft missed the entirety of the 2016-2017 season after breaking a bone in his foot. Simmons played in 81 games in his second season, averaging a near triple-double with 15.8 points, 8.2 assists and 8.2 rebounds.
Embiid, the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, missed all of his first two seasons and played in just 31 games in his third season. Now in his fourth season, many consider Embiid one of the best big men in the NBA.
We will see if, like Embiid and Simmons, Parker can overcome the injuries that have robbed him of much of his on-court time and development.
We will also see how Parker’s impending free agency turns out, and how the Bucks implement him back into their future if they do in fact match other offers and re-sign him.
