The Milwaukee Bucks just got Khris Middleton back, but now they’ve lost Jabari Parker in the middle of his best season.
On Wednesday night, the third-year forward had his left knee bend awkwardly and he was immediately diagnosed with a sprained left knee. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the MRI revealed a torn ACL, which is now the second of Parker’s young career.
Milwaukee has severely underachieved this season and is 22-29, a record good for 11th in the Eastern Conference. Their mediocrity overshadows Parker’s development and the 21-year-old is averaging career-highs in points (20.1), rebounds (6.1) and assists (2.8) while shooting 49 percent from the field overall and 36.5 percent from three. Parker has looked incredibly explosive all year and is reaching the potential that everyone saw when he was coming out of Duke.
His first ACL tear came just 25 games into his rookie season, and we were just getting a taste of how good Parker could be. Once his second year started up, there were minor improvements, but what’s been put on display thus far has been nothing short of amazing, and he takes full advantage of playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In a statement released by the Bucks, the team noted the recovery and rehabilitation process will take about 12 months.
Start a conversation with me on Twitter
