Now fully healed from his second major knee injury in three years, Jabari Parker is pumped that he’s back on the hardwood playing ball.

He recently caught up with EuroHoops.net to talk about his overall thoughts on his long-awaited return:

“It feels good… It feels nice to be back playing again.

I feel like it's going to take some time [to get my rhythm back]. I started playing not too long ago, so [I'm] just starting to be patient with myself… [I’m] being satisfied with short growth.”

Sidelined for one whole year, wherein he missed 81 games across two seasons, Parker has only been back for five games. He’s chipping in measly numbers of 8.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game through a limited playing time (20 minutes or less), but once he gets the coaches’ confidence back, he should be able to raise those stats in no time.

Despite being high in the management's pecking order, though, he’s aware and understanding that as someone who is fresh off the injury list and in a contract year, the road to free agency could be knocking on his door hard:

“It’s really out of my control… I’ll do my best to be here (in Milwaukee). I’ll do my best to make myself available. But at the end of the day, it’s about whether they look at it as a business.”

With Milwaukee only a few hours away from his hometown of Chicago, Parker would definitely prefer staying on his original team. Also, he had a good tandem with Giannis Antetokounmpo last season prior to getting hurt, as they both netted over 20 points per game together.