Jabari Parker will make his season debut Friday night against the visiting New York Knicks.
Parker, 22, made the announcement himself last night during Milwaukee’s 107-95 win against the Philadelphia Sixers.
Jabari Parker announces he will return to game action Friday against the New York Knicks!! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/AGUHIA7OFE
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 30, 2018
The Bucks’ training staff is confident Jabari—who tore the ACL in his left knee on Feb. 8, 2017—will quickly round into game shape.
Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“He progressed really quickly in the early phases of his rehab, which is really nice,” Bucks director of performance Troy Flanagan told the Journal Sentinel. “In the first ACL rehab, he had a fair bit of patellar tendinitis which slowed the whole thing down a little bit even though he did come back reasonably early. We saw a great progression early in this rehab that allowed us to really capitalize on his fitness.
“He’s faster than he’s ever been, he’s stronger than he’s ever been and he’s leaner than he’s ever been. I’m really happy with how he’s come back and his fitness levels. He’ll still need a little bit more game fitness, but we spent the past six weeks trying to give him as much game play as we possibly could. He’ll progress up in minutes fairly quickly.”
Parker’s teammates are thrilled to have him back.
“I’m really excited,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “I know the fans are really excited about that, too. He’s been through this twice in his career and just seeing him every day for the past year working hard and being focused toward his return I think it’s big for him and we’ve all got to embrace the moment. I know he’s really excited. I think when he comes back he’s going to take this team to the next level.”
