UPDATE, Dec. 17, 1:40 am: The Bucks have confirmed the news, Jabari Parker is out for the season with a torn ACL. He will undergo surgery and should be back by the start of next season.
This could mean more Giannis Antetokounmpo (playing the four), and more John Henson when he gets healthy in the next week.
Dec. 16, 11:13 pm: Jabari Parker was the leader in the clubhouse for Rookie of the Year honors to this point in the season, even though we’re experiencing a historically bad crop of first-year players, at least statistically.
But the race is now officially wide open, thanks to Parker suffering a knee injury that’s expected to keep him out for the remainder of his initial NBA season.
From Marc Stein of ESPN.com:Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker is likely to miss the rest of his rookie season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee, league sources said.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Bucks are expected to announce Wednesday that Parker is lost for the season after suffering a tear -- not a sprain, as was initially diagnosed -- in the third quarter of the Bucks’ dramatic win Monday night in Phoenix.
If there’s good news to be had, it’s that Parker to this point hasn’t seemed to require as much development as most first-year players.
He was seen by many as the most NBA-ready player in this year’s rookie class, a capable frontline player that already has the tools, footwork and athleticism to be able to compete at the professional level.
Now, unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a season to see how his skill set will play out.
Parker was averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game for Milwaukee this season.
