Photo Credit: Mary Altaffer/Associated Press
Jabari Parker’s Advice To Kristaps Porzingis
While the number one pick Andrew Wiggins (famously moved from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade for Kevin Love) may have ended up being awarded Rookie of the Year for the draft season of 2014/15, it may not have been the case had one Jabari Parker not torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament after 25 games. Parker was the clear standout of the rookie year before his injury, and looked set to cruise to ROY before he went down.
Then, last year, the young Milwaukee Bucks star looked to be fully recovered from his injury, and was averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Parker had been the spark plug for a Bucks team looking to make the playoffs.
Unfortunately it wasn’t too long until the next shock hit! On February 8, 2017, Parker tore his left ACL. Thankfully, the period of suffering seems to be over as Jabari Parker made his season debut roughly one month ago. He’s working his way back to full strength and, so far, has played 15 games in which he averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds on 49.2% shooting.
On February 6th, 2018, the New York Knicks were playing against the Milwaukee Bucks, another young star, Kristaps Porzingis tore his ACL.
Having suffered the exact same injury twice, Jabari now had some advice for Porzingis:
“For himself, to think about his journey, think about who he is and not thinking about comparisons and looking far outside what’s out of his control,’’ Parker said. “Because then you face doubt on top of the doubt you face with yourself. You never want to seek outside advice for either your confidence or your doubt. I want him to stay in tune, taking it real slow and try to train his body to push himself forward.’’
