Jabari Parker’s career was never destined to end in Barcelona. He was never supposed to cry on camera when a reporter asked him, “What’s up, boy?” with a microphone in his face.
Parker was one of the most touted prospects in his high school class, and comparisons to LeBron James fueled his rise to stardom all the way to the NBA Draft.
But things weren’t easy for him, as two serious injuries in his rookie and third seasons caused him to jump to six teams in four seasons until he became almost an afterthought, with his name in YouTube videos with titles like ‘What happened with…?’ .’ or ‘Where are they now?’
Where he is now is in Spain, where emotions surfaced after his first season in Europe, proof that everyone’s path is different and that the road is not always paved as we wish.
Here, DailyMail.com takes a look back at Jabari Parker’s career to find out what happened to a player who once held such promise in the NBA before being reduced to tears in Europe.
Images and videos of Jabari Parker crying in an interview went viral last week
Parker’s NBA career was destroyed by injuries, as he played for six teams in eight years.
In May 2012, Sports Illustrated called Jabari Parker the greatest high school recruit since LeBron James in an article that praised him for his humility and highlighted his faith as one of the cornerstones of his life.
Top programs pursued the Chicago kid, and Parker eventually landed at Duke University and its storied program under legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Parker tore it up, averaging 19 points and eight rebounds per game while developing into a perfect combo forward to play in the NBA.
Scouting reports highlighted Parker’s enormous size, his superior ball-handling skills for his position, and his ability to intimidate larger defenders in the paint. But there were questions about his defense and his inefficient shot selection.
These weren’t enough reasons to keep the Milwaukee Bucks from selecting him with the second overall pick in the 2014 draft — one pick after the Cleveland Cavaliers took Andrew Wiggins and another before the 76ers took center Joel Embiid.
He was just 25 games into his NBA career when tragedy first struck.
In the third quarter of a game against the Phoenix Suns in December 2014, Parker left the lane and his knee buckled under him. He had torn his ACL and would miss the rest of the season.
That absence extended until the start of the 2015-16 season, where after his recovery, Parker managed to start 72 games. Little did he know, but the most starts in his NBA career.
Coming out of high school, Parker was a consensus five-star recruit and a national standout player.
He chose to go to Duke, where he became a superstar in the world of college basketball.
Parker was selected second overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
In his rookie season, in this previous game, Parker tore his ACL and missed most of the season.
He missed some time to start the following year, but started 72 games for the Bucks.
The following season, 2016-17, tragedy struck again in a February game against the Miami Heat, when he tore the same ACL in the same knee in 2014. It was a major setback for Parker, who had been a starter in 50 games while averaging a career-high 20.1 points per contest.
Parker didn’t suit up for Milwaukee again until February 2018, nearly a year after the second tear.
Meanwhile, Parker, who had been selected as a combo forward, was supplanted by another Bucks player with the same capabilities: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As Parker recovered, Antetokounmpo became the player the Bucks desperately needed.
Parker was considered obsolete. After initially making him a qualifying offer after the 17-18 season, the Bucks backed out and Parker hit free agency.
But the following season, in this game against the Heat, Parker tore the same ACL again.
Parker’s (R) role with the Bucks was eventually taken over by Giannis Antetokounmpo (L)
After his qualifying offer was withdrawn, Parker signed with his hometown Chicago Bulls.
He signed with his hometown Chicago Bulls for two years and $40 million. Parker started out flying high, but the Bulls were struggling.
This led to the firing of coach Fred Hoiberg, who was replaced by Jim Boylen. Boylen’s first decision during his tenure was to bench Parker. It was a questionable decision as Parker was one of the team’s best players and had considerably improved his shot selection since his college days.
“It’s a surprise because I did everything I could in the time they gave me,” Parker said at the time. ‘But it is what it is. You can’t pout, you just have to keep moving.
Not even a year into his contract with the Bulls, in 2019, Parker was traded to the Washington Wizards along with Bobby Portis in exchange for Otto Porter Jr. Parker never started a game in the nation’s capital and the team declined his option. second year .
With one last chance to show that he could be one of the best options in the NBA, he signed another two-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks.
Parker had a great opportunity to prove himself when positional rival John Collins was suspended for 25 games for taking a banned substance.
Parker was a reliable starter with the Bulls, until new head coach Jim Boylen benched him.
Boylen and the Bulls traded Parker to the Washington Wizards for Otto Porter Jr.
After the Wizards declined his second-year option, Parker signed a deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
He started 23 games for Atlanta and averaged 15 points per game that season. But Collins eventually returned and Parker’s role was reduced.
After missing two weeks with a shoulder injury in mid-January 2020, Parker was traded to the Sacramento Kings. Sacramento was a dead end for him: he only played nine games total before being suspended in March 2021.
He signed with the Boston Celtics in April 2021, a chance to be a reliable bench option on a playoff team. Parker played 22 regular season games and four playoff games for Boston over two seasons before being suspended in January 2022.
A Summer League tryout in 2023 with the Bucks did not lead to a contract and he moved abroad to Spanish basketball powerhouse Barcelona.
Several trades and cuts led to Parker (20) becoming a member of the Boston Celtics
At the end of the season, Parker broke down emotionally after Real Madrid swept Barcelona in three games of a five-game series.
During an on-camera interview, a journalist asked Parker to reflect on his first season abroad: the 29-year-old struggled to speak before silently sobbing.
Days later, he explained that he was not upset: ‘Basically everything was happiness. It was a thank you to this organization for giving me an opportunity, to my colleagues for making me happy with this experience.
“I have nothing but good things to say about the experience I have had in Barcelona, especially being in the FC Barcelona team. It has been nothing more than a dream for me and thanks to this place I have found my love for the game.
“I wasn’t sure if I would be able to play again, but thanks to FC Barcelona, the fans, my teammates, my coaches and my friends, I have found that love and passion again.”
Boston was his most recent stop in the NBA before moving to Europe and Spanish giant Barcelona.
It’s fair to say that Parker’s story leaves many wondering what would have happened if those injuries had never occurred.
But for Parker, finding peace and happiness in sports may be a consolation prize. For a player to have gone through what happened and come out happy on the other side is positive.
The best part is that their story is not over. Parker could still play in the NBA again if a team wants him. But for now, finding solace in the sport that was so cruel to him is a small reconciliation for the career that should have been.