Some NBA players might have trouble projecting an air of confidence and calm following their second ACL injury.
Jabari Parker, however, is not one of them.
While at a Jordan Brand event, the Milwaukee Bucks forward spoke with ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell about his recovery—which, apparently, is going so well he doesn’t intent to return until he can jump over tall buildings:
“I feel great,” Parker told ESPN.com during a promotional appearance in Chicago on Thursday. “I tell myself every day I couldn’t be in a better situation because it’s going to make me a great man at the end of the day. It’s going to make me mentally tough and it’s going to help me for the future.”
Parker, 22, initially tore his ACL in December 2014 and is in what figures to be a yearlong rehab process after reinjuring the knee in early February last season. He does not have a return date in mind.
“As of right now, the way I treat my body, it doesn’t have a date,” he said. “I can give you a little piece of information: I’m not the average person with this injury. Obviously I had it once, but I’ve done stuff so far that’s exciting. But most importantly, I want to be able to jump as high, jump higher than I was, be faster than I was. That’s the only way I’ll play again.”
Parker’s current state is a fascinating one. He was playing like a borderline All-Star before suffering his ACL injury, which is encouraging, but not encouraging enough to offer him a big-money extension. The Bucks, in all likelihood, will let his contract situation ride out until the summer, at which point they probably won’t have had long to decide how much he’s worth. The most optimistic projections don’t have Parker returning until his 10th month removed from injury, which puts him back in the fold for December at the earliest.
Plus, the matter of where he should play isn’t going away. Though Parker has developed a solid off-ball game to complement is polished on-ball work, he’s still not a trusted stopper. He shouldn’t be guarding wings, which basically eliminates the option of playing at the 3 while complicating his future at 4, where so many glorified wings now reside.
Figuring out his price tag is a matter for a different day, though. Right now, Parker and the Bucks will be more concerned with his recovery, when he’ll return and what he can be after does.
