The Milwaukee Bucks took Jabari Parker as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Watch the video above to see a full profile of Parker.
Here’s what you need to know about him:
1. The Milwaukee Bucks Drafted Him No. 2 Overall
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As expected, Parker was picked as the No. 2 overall draft for the Milwaukee Bucks. Parker was excited about his placement since it is just an our from his home city of Chicago.
Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins was chosen as the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2. He Played For Duke For One Year
In Parker’s first and only year at Duke this past season, he scored 22 points with 6 rebounds, 1 block and 2 assists against Davidson. Parker’s outstanding performance in his first game ever as a Cameron Crazie marked the 4th player in history for Duke to score over 20 points.
Parker went on to put up 27 points with 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and a block but still fell to Wiggins and Embiid’s Kansas Jayhawks. By January he was second in most 20-point games by a Freshman at Duke with a career high of 30 points by March.
3. He Has Four Siblings
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Parker is one of five children in the Parker family. He has two older brothers (Darryl and Christian) and two older sisters (Iman and Tilah). His brother Darryl played for the Oregon Ducks basketball team for two years (1995-1997) while his brother Christian played ball for Brigham Young University–Hawaii.
Sonny Parker, Jabari’s father, played professional basketball for the Warriors from 1976-1982.
4. He is a Devout Mormon
Jabari Parker (L) hugs teammate Amile Jefferson (R) during a game against Virginia. (Getty)
Parker is very different then most top NCAA basketball player.
He told Sports Illustrated:
Basketball is what I do. It’s not who I am.”
Parker’s mother, Lola Parker is a Mormon. As a lifelong member of the Mormon church in Chicago, she has raised her children to be Mormons too since Sonny Parker isn’t very religious.
Jabari Parker isn’t just a minority for his religion, but he is a minority within his religion. The members of the Mormon religion are just 1.7 percent of the population in the United States and of that 1.7 percent, only 3 percent are African-American.
Parker said of the his faith:
I used to have to explain to a lot of my friends that not all Mormons are from Utah, and not all Mormons are white. There are a lot of misunderstandings about the Mormon faith.”
Parker wakes up 3 days a week at 5:30 am to attend Bible study. By 5:30 three days a week he’s off to church for Bible study.
Parker thanks God for all of his success saying:
It’s not because of me. It’s because of God.”
5. He Graduated High School With a 3.7 GPA
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Parker went off to Duke after he graduated high school with a 3.7. Thanks to his religion and humble nature, he was never one for partying or messing around and focused heavily on his studies.
While interviewers would wait outside locker rooms for Parker to come out, they told Sports Illustrated he would never show. Instead of flaunting himself in front of the press, he would go back onto the court and for the JV games at Simeon (his high school) and pass out water to the players.
A reporter who had observed him said:
The other varsity players were out in the hallway, talking to girls by the snack stand. The best player in the city was being the water boy for the jayvee. It’s hard to root against a kid like that. He’s on top of the world, but he’s incredibly humble.”