Jabari Parker will be out for the rest of his rookie season after suffering a tear in his ACL, ESPN’s Marc Stein reports.
Parker suffered the injury Monday night against the Phoenix Suns at the 10:56 mark of the third quarter. He left the game and did not return. On Tuesday, he traveled back to Milwaukee to get an MRI, and the results have now determined a tear in his ACL.
Picked second overall by the Bucks during this year’s draft, Parker had high expectations this season. He was already playing well, earning Rookie of the Month honors for November. Parker averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds on 49 percent shooting in 25 games played. He has helped the Bucks, who owned the worst record in the league last season, accomplish a 13-12 record this season.
This is terrible news for Milwaukee and the NBA world, considering that Parker was well on his way to winning Rookie of the Year. He will now have to look his rookie season go to waste.
It’s been tough for the 2014 draft class, as we have already seen Julius Randle go down with a season-ending injury, Joel Embiid may be out for the entire season, Aaron Gordon has been out for over a month with a foot injury, Noah Vonleh has played a total of three games due to sports hernia, and Marcus Smart has been plagued with ankle injuries.
ACL injuries are awfully serious and extremely arduous to recover from. Hopefully, Parker is able to surmount the injury and bounce back next season.