Jabari Parker: The Biggest Star in the Basketball Camp

Jabari Ali Parker, who was born March 15, 1995, is an American professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season at Duke University before he was drafted second overall in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. Parker was an outstanding high school athlete, helping his team win his fourth consecutive Illinois state championship in Simeon his career, and was named All-American High School Player of the Year by Gatorade and McDonald’s. In his freshman year in 2013-14, he earned Consensus First Team All-American, USBWA National Freshman of the Year, and John R. Wooden Award runner-up (College Player of the Year).

In October 2010, Parker was one of 18 players to participate in the 2011-12 U.S. National Development Team’s minicamp at the FIBA 2011 Olympic Training Center on June 10-18, 2011. Earned an automatic invitation to tryouts for the U16 competition. Colorado Springs, Colorado. Parker is part of a team of 12. He is one of four Chicago products born out of 27 tests he has. He was his MVP of the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship where Team USA won the gold medal. He competed in the 2012 FIBA World Under-17 Championship in Kaunas, Lithuania from 29 June to 8 July 2012 alongside Simeon’s teammate Kendrick Nunn and Whitney Young’s rival Okafor. Selected for the US team that competed. The team won the gold medal, but Parker missed several games, including the semi-finals, with an ankle injury.

Parker received many accolades for his performance in his first year. Unanimously selected to both the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) First All-ACC Team and All-ACC Freshman Coaches Team. He was also named the first team to score the most points in Coaches All-ACC Basketball. Parker was named ACC Freshman of the Year with 72 out of 77 votes and his second place in the ACC Player of the Year award behind Warren 48-25.

Despite living as one of the most successful high school basketball players in American history, Parker is often implied as a draft bust for his lack of success in the NBA.

It’s difficult to talk about Parker’s basketball career without speaking of his injury streak. The Milwaukee Bucks recruited Parker with the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, he has torn his ACL in his left knee twice in 3 years.

Jabari Parker’s awards include (he has not won any championships):

• Consensus first-team All-American (2014)
• USBWA National Freshman of the Year (2014)
• First-team All-ACC (2014)
• ACC Rookie of the Year (2014)
• Gatorade National Player of the Year (2012)
• USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2011)
• First-team Parade All-American (2013)
• 2× Illinois Mr. Basketball (2012, 2013)

Basketball Display at NBA Camp

Jabari Parker upholds a good impression in his hometown. The Milwaukee Bucks forward returns to Chicago often to host a free Kids’ basketball camp that attracts hundreds of young Hoopers. The former Simeon star teamed up with his father Sony and Jordan Brand to make a difference in the Chicago community. Parker is known for hosting a free basketball camp for high school students. The 36-year-old is known for being extremely charitable and giving back to his community. However, in this event, Parker almost returned the bucket. In 36 grand seconds, basketball fans watched the NBA player hilariously dominate high school students. Luckily no one was injured and everyone seemed to be doing well and enjoying themselves.

The former Duke Blue Devil enjoyed an extraordinary college career and showed commitment in his second and third professional seasons. Parker played for the Bucks, Chicago Bulls, and Washington Wizards before moving to the Atlanta Hawks in 2019. The fierce power forward has appeared in about 35 games with the Hawks. On the rebuilding team, he averaged 15 points per game and he had 6 rebounds. He has scored a total of  36 points, which is the most points scored by Jabari Parker in both the NBA Regular Season and the Playoffs.

Unfortunately, Parker was traded to the Sacramento Kings in February 2020 and never showed his skill. Thirteen months after the trade, the Kings waived him in the September of that year, as Parker only played a total of 27 minutes in his nine games. A tale similar to what happened in Boston happened with Parker, who was finally released from the team in January 2022 after playing 22 games over two seasons. He is currently a free agent and is waiting for an NBA team to offer him another chance at the game.