NBA star Jabari Parker has no limits on the basketball court, unless you include his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The Milwaukee Bucks high-flying star is once again victim of an ACL injury, just as he suffered in 2014. This time it’ll keep Parker off the court for a year, sources say. That’s bad enough, missing 12 months. But the biggest problem in coming back from ACL injuries is not just coming back, but coming back strong. Guys like former NBA MVP Derrick Rose have returned to the court after ACL tears, but only people who work for Rose would claim he is the same player he was before the injury. Yet for every Rose there is a Tom Brady. The New England Patriot’s Super Bowl god tore his ACL (and MCL) in 2008. We know how that story ends — and it’s the opposite of tragic.
Closer to home — and the hardwood — Parker can look to perennial NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award guy Jamal Crawford. Crawford returned to the court undiminished after tearing his ACL in his second NBA season in 2001. Crawford is still looking great in 2017.
