While in the midst of a breakout season, third-year forward Jabari Parker of the Milwaukee Bucks got the devastating news that his season will be cut short after sustaining a torn ACL in Wednesday’s loss to the Miami Heat.
An MRI performed Thursday morning revealed Milwaukee Bucks third-year forward Jabari Parker has torn the ACL in his left knee for a second time.
He will be required to have surgery and will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2016-17 season, according to ESPN’s senior writer Zach Lowe.
Beyond that, Parker’s recovery and rehabilitation period is expected to take at least 12 months, according to ESPN.com, so Parker will likely not be ready to start the 2017-18 season, either.
This is obviously devastating news for Parker, who was in the midst of a breakout season and was averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assist and 1.0 steals per game before the injury; all the while shooting 49 percent from the field and a career best 36.5 percent from three.
Parker’s injury is also a major blow to a Bucks team that had just welcomed back last year’s leading scorer, shooting guard Khris Middleton, to the rotation.
More from Hoops Habit
On the same night Parker had to exit the game against the Miami Heat in the third quarter with the non-contact knee injury, Middleton was making his season debut after coming back ahead of schedule from a torn hamstring — which he sustained last September.
Milwaukee is two games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks were hoping the improved play of Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo, helped by the return of Middleton, would give them the boost they needed in order to make the push into the playoffs.
In just less than a week, the NBA has seen two of its young budding stars go down with catastrophic knee injuries.
Up-and-coming shooting guard Zach LaVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves sustained an ACL tear in his left knee in Friday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons and will miss the rest of the season.
This is the second time Parker has torn his ACL in his left knee. After being drafted second overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, the 6’8” forward had his rookie year cut short after just 25 games before the first ligament tear in the knee.
