Back in the summer of 2014, Jabari Parker was voted by his rookie peers as 'most likely to win rookie of the year, and most likely to have the best NBA career.'
After tearing his ACL in December of his rookie season, Parker's chances of a Rookie of the Year plaque vanished and landed in Andrew Wiggins' living room.
He can still fight for most successful career of his class, but not only is he running out of time, he's facing some stiff competition now (Wiggins, Embiid, A Gordon, etc.)
Fans of Parker currently have a lot of doubts about his ability to stay healthy and it's within reason. Hopefully his return will mark the beginning of a new era of his career.
When was he last seen in action?
The last time we saw Jabari was Feb 8, 2016, during the 3rd quarter of a matchup with the Miami Heat. The next day he underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, the same ACL he tore in a the third quarter of a matchup against Phoenix in his rookie season.
When is he expected to return?
According to Jason Kidd, mid February, right before the upcoming All-Star Weekend break. So essentially a month from now.
Parker is currently practicing with the Bucks’ affiliate Wisconsin Herd getting reps and his legs under him.
Injury History
This is Parker’s second time coming back from a season-ending injury and probably the worst part of it all is he injured the same knee twice. Parker was a prospect with incredibly high expectations as a top draft pick, and barring his injures, he’s delivered on his hype.
Going forward, you certainly wish the best for Parker but you hope he doesn’t share the same fate as fellow Chicago native Derrick Rose as a player with a world of potential, but a career tainted by the perils of multiple injuries.
How does he fit into a team with Giannis on another level?
This is where things get interesting. With the emergence of Giannis into full Giannas-mode, Jason Kidd and his staff has some intriguing propositions to consider with rotations and their on take on a death-lineup.
Before Parker got hurt last year, he was averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds a game, enjoying without a doubt his most efficient and successful season of his career.
He shot 49% from 2 and 37% from three, leveling him out to an eFG% of 53. Even better, more than half of Parker’s bucket’s last year came from an assist, lending itself to his versatility as a rather intelligent off-ball offensive player who tends to get points in the flow of a game vs. a ton of one-on one.
When Parker returns next month, Kidd will have a LOT of options. He can roll out Brogdon, Bledsoe, Middleton, Parker Giannis when he feels like going small, or Brogdon, Middleton, Parker, Giannis, Henson when he feels like going big. And every other lineup in between. On paper, with just the return of Parker, it adds a tremendous amount of depth and versatility to a team that is looking to make some legitimate noise in the eastern conference.
Parker next to Giannis obviously will provide a great deal of benefit to both of them, especially in any type of high low situation or pick and rolls. Parker is a better percentage shooter, so this should add some more spacing for Giannis to percolate in the paint like he enjoys, but still have another effective scorer to dish it out for either a long-range shot or another drive on the same possession.