4,400 Miles Away From Family, Ex-Celtics Star’s Tearful Breakdown on Air Breaks NBA World’s Heart

There was once a highly touted prospect in 2014. After an incredible March Madness season, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Jabari Parker as the number two overall pick. He had the capability of becoming an NBA star. Many experts shared such an opinion. Unfortunately, in eight years, because of frequent injuries, he could never find a home. Finally, he moved to Spain to join FC Barcelona in the EuroLeague this season. It was over 4300 miles away from his hometown of Chicago.

Recently, the Spanish team played their arch-nemesis, Real Madrid, during the playoffs. Despite the addition of Parker, Barcelona seemed no match. They lost all three games to Madrid. After the series, a reporter approached the former Boston Celtics forward to ask some questions. After a few game questions, Parker was asked about his first years of basketball overseas, having to leave his childhood home behind. The question left him in tears.

Jabari Parker had to take a moment. He looked flustered. He was trying to bring himself to say something, but his emotions took the best of him. He kept touching his face so that not even a sliver of emotion could be seen on camera. And despite desperately trying to hold back his emotions, the tears didn’t stop flowing. After assessing his emotional demeanor, the team reporter tried to check on him. After several tries to answer the question, P still the ex-Celtics player couldn’t deal with his emotions and homesickness. It was a tough sight to swallow.

Despite what fans might think, Jabari Parker received heavy criticism during his time in the NBA. As a high-profile prospect, he was bound to certain expectations. Injuries never allowed him to realize his ceiling, nor was he given the opportunity to find a permanent home in the league. He last played for the Celtics during the 2022 season, averaging 4.4 points in 9 minutes.

Watching Jabari Parker’s breakdown led fans to show their support for the former NBA forward on X.

NBA Fans react to Jabari Parker’s emotional interview

“He’s broken”, one of the fans wrote on X when reacting to Parker’s emotional state. The former Celtics star was once at the very pinnacle of college basketball. In his singular season with Duke, Parker averaged 19.1 points and 8.7 rebounds in 35 games. That 6’8″ forward looked NBA-ready. Yet fate had another plan altogether.

Jabari Parker had the most unfortunate luck with injuries. “If injuries didn’t f*** him he’d probably be an all-star in the league right now”, a user on X claimed. The 29-year-old showed great talent and maturity for his age as a new-gen forward. Even in his most recent game for FC Barcelona, Parker exploded for 27 points and 9 rebounds while shooting over 40% from three. Many other fans felt the same way.

Another fan said, “Imagine if he wasn’t so injury prone man”. During his rookie season, Jabari Parker suffered an ACL injury which ended his season. As he was beginning to establish himself and get accustomed to the Milwaukee system, he tore his ACL again in his third season.

“Could’ve been a baller” a fan shared his thoughts on X. The Duke product had the potential to see the pinnacle of the NBA. Injuries and then later issues with his weight ultimately curtailed his NBA career. However, in hi first season with Barcelona, Parker has had a positive outlook on playing internationally. “I’m enjoying this experience being able to play in Europe playing amongst. These great fans”, the 6’8″ stalwart admitted.

As painful as it is, Jabari Parker remains a ‘what if’ story stored on the back shelf of the NBA? Without injuries, his career trajectory would have been different. No one can say with certainty whether it would look any different. Yet, the path would have been a lot more kind to him in his basketball endeavors.

How high do you rate Jabari Parker? Let us know your views in the comments below.