Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker has been steadily recovering from the second ACL tear in his left knee that he suffered back in February.
During a recent appearance at an event in his hometown of Chicago, Parker provided an update on the rehab process from the major injury, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN
“I feel great,” Parker told ESPN.com during a promotional appearance in Chicago on Thursday. “I tell myself every day I couldn't be in a better situation because it's going to make me a great man at the end of the day. It's going to make me mentally tough and it's going to help me for the future.”
It was the second ACL tear in his first three years in the league that has created some cause for concern given it occurred to the same knee. However, Parker sounds like he is quite optimistic that he can return from the injury and play at the same level.
At the same time, the 22- year-old doesn't want to put a timeline on the injury as it oftentimes has taken up to a year for a player to fully recover.
“As of right now, the way I treat my body, it doesn't have a date,” he said. “I can give you a little piece of information: I'm not the average person with this injury. Obviously I had it once, but I've done stuff so far that's exciting. But most importantly, I want to be able to jump as high, jump higher than I was, be faster than I was. That's the only way I'll play again.”
Prior to the injury, Parker was in the midst of a breakout year where he averaged a career-high 20.1 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc along with 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Given the type of injury he suffered, the Bucks are likely aiming to take the precarious route in order to avoid any setback or additional issues related to the ailment. That said, the fact that he's progressing through the recovery is a quite an encouraging sign.
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