Milwaukee Bucks F Jabari Parker Makes 2017-18 Season Debut After 2nd ACL Tear

After a lengthy recovery, Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker made his 2017-18 season debut in Friday's game against the New York Knicks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.          

His teammates gave him a huge morale boost before tipoff:

It's an understatement to say the 22-year-old experienced hardships in his first three NBA seasons.         

The Bucks selected Parker at No. 2 overall in the 2014 draft. Unfortunately, a torn ACL shortened his rookie campaign to 25 games. Parker returned for 76 contests, primarily as a starter, during the 2015-16 season and showed promise, averaging 14.1 points per game.  

However, a second ACL tear derailed his third season last February.

Coming off the bench, Parker made 12 points in the first half of Friday's game. Milwaukee needs scoring with guard Malcolm Brogdon out six to eight weeks with a partially torn left quadriceps tendon, per Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel.