Although Jabari Parker had some productive years in the NBA, including averaging 20.1 points per game in the 2016-17 season, NBA and basketball fans will likely remember him as a draft bust. Picked second overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, ahead of league MVPs Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid and All-Stars Zach LaVine and Julius Randle , many had high hopes for the athletic 6'7" forward who showed his wares during an explosive one-and-done season at Duke.
Unfortunately, Parker couldn't shake off the injury bug, which bit him several times. He tore his ACL during his rookie season, limiting him to only 25 games. The same incident happened in February 2017, which was truly unfortunate considering he was in the midst of his best pro season. Although he continued to play for several more teams, he wasn't able to re-establish himself due to injuries that limited him to just 127 games over four seasons.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo , though, holds a different view of his former teammate. In a sit-down interview with renowned broadcaster Jim Paschke, he revealed how crucial Jabari's presence on the Bucks was, saying he might not have reached the heights he did if it weren't for the former Blue Devil.
Giannis was only in his sophomore season in the NBA when Jabari arrived, carrying the burden of heavy expectations that typically come with being a high draft pick. However, he wasn't fazed, even scoring 23 points in a triple-overtime victory over Brooklyn in November 2014. Seeing how good Jabari was inspired Giannis to work harder to reach his teammate's level of talent.
"I've never really talked about this before, but one of the biggest motivators in my career was one of my favorite teammates, Jabari Parker ," Giannis divulged . "I was able to measure myself against him. He was the No. 2 overall pick. People said he'd be an All-Star. They said he'd be an MVP."
Jabari came in with a lot of hype, thanks to his impressive showing in the NCAA. On the other hand, Giannis was still a 19-year-old project learning the ropes of NBA basketball.
"Every single day, I told myself, 'Okay, if he works one hour, I'll work an hour and a half. If he works two hours, I'll work two and a half.' Every single day," Giannis commented.
After his NBA career ended in 2023, Parker went on to play in Europe, starring for Barcelona until June 2025. He has since moved to Partizan Mozzart Bet and Joventut Badalona. Although the dream was always to star in the NBA, Parker has since accepted his fate and embraced his basketball journey.
Giannis, though, stressed that he will always be grateful to Jabari for the things he unknowingly did.
"To this day, I've never told him this, but he motivated me so much to become better because he was so damn good. So damn good," Giannis conveyed.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
