Jabari Parker will make his long-awaited return on Friday when the Milwaukee Bucks host the New York Knicks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Wearing a sharp wool suit, Parker announced the news in a TV interview with FOX Sports Wisconsin during the Bucks’ game Monday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Parker said he had been medically cleared to play and was "anxious" to get back on the court.
The Bucks’ fourth-year forward suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee – his second torn left ACL in a little over two seasons – on Feb. 8, 2017, and underwent surgery to repair the injury on Feb. 14. He has spent the past year recovering and rehabilitating and has not yet played this season.
"Jabari has worked extremely hard with our medical, performance and coaching staffs to get to this point," said General Manager Jon Horst. "He’s passed all the tests and been cleared to return by our team physician Dr. William Raasch of the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network. Just as important, Jabari feels ready to play and we’re excited for his return to game action on Friday."
In 51 games (50 starts) in 2016-17, Parker averaged 20.1 points (second on team), 6.2 rebounds (third), 2.8 assists (fourth) and 1.0 steals in 33.9 minutes (second) per game. He scored in double figures 47 times, including 20-plus points in 28 games.
Friday’s game against the Knicks starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are available here.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
