After a standout freshman season at Duke, Jabari Parker was selected with the second overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks aren’t expected to be very good this season. However, in Parker the organization feels they have someone who can be the face of the franchise. That, along with being the No. 2 pick in the draft, means expectations for the 19-year-old are high.
Aware of it takes to get where he wants, Parker seems to have the right frame of mind heading into his rookie season. He also knows there have been several chosen in the same position he was in the draft who didn’t fulfill the promise expected from them.
Brett Pollakoff from Pro Basketball Talk spoke with Parker, who emphasized he doesn’t want to join the list of players we commonly refer to as busts.
There’s been a lot of second pick busts,” Parker said Saturday morning, at the grand opening of the redesigned Jordan space inside Nike Chicago. “I’m just trying not to be that bust. Everyday that I step on the court, I just remind myself that I have a long ways to go. If I want to be one of those guys in the first tier of the NBA, like a LeBron, like a Kobe, like a [Blake Griffin], then I have to have that mentality starting off from the ground, and work my way up.”
Some players go on to become stars. Others evolve into solid role players. Then, there are the ones who never pan out. It’s the crap shoot that is the NBA Draft.
Hasheem Thabeet, Darko Milicic, and Derrick Williams were each selected second overall. All three left the teams who drafted them wanting more. Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge were picked No. 2 overall as well. To go back a little further, so was Jason Kidd.
With Jabari Parker’s career just getting underway, we will have to wait a few years to determine which end of the spectrum he falls into. The Bucks, and Parker, are certainly hoping for the positive end.
