The Milwaukee Bucks' new era began in earnest Thursday night, and its newest face is Jabari Parker.
The Chicago native and former high school player of the year joins Giannis Antetokounmpo as the new centerpieces of a rebuilding Bucks franchise, a phrase so beautiful we never could have imagined writing it one year ago.
But here we are, and it's OK to be absolutely thrilled. After suffering through a 15-67 season, Bucks fans deserved this. So let's kick back, look forward to the July 11 Vegas Summer League opener (vs. Andrew Wiggins and the Cavs no less), and lap up all the Jabari interviews and highlights we can find.
Ready? READY.
Here's Jabari at the draft media day on Wednesday:
And here's 12 minutes of Jabari killing guys at Duke:
Of course that's the Jabari you know, but getting there was definitely a journey. Case in point: Here he is as a 6'3" and pretty-awkward-but-still-balling middle schooler...let's just say he's grown up a bit.
Now here he is as a 6'6" freshman...still not a fluid athlete, but definitely getting there.
And then there's 6'8" junior year Jabari, who looks a whole lot more like the Parker we know now. Keep in mind this was before a broken foot sidelined him for the start of his senior season--frequently cited as the reason behind his weight gain in his senior year--though he still doesn't look that strong despite carrying less weight than he does now.