MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Jabari Parker on his love for Bucks teammates and the city of Milwaukee

James B. Nelson
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Jabari Parker sounds like the ultimate teammate and a passionate ambassador for Milwaukee in a piece published Friday in The Players' Tribune.

Suffering and now rehabbing from his second season-ending knee injury isn't the hard part, Parker writes in the first person piece in the online publication founded by retired New York Yankee Derek Jeter.

Parker says he's sorry he can't be out on the court helping his team during its playoff run, a quest to "give Milwaukee what it deserves."

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"Man … I’d give anything, though, to be out there playing right now. I’d give anything to be out there while we’re making this run," Parker writes. "To be out there with my team — and with my city, too."

Parker heaps praise on his team, which holds a 2-1 lead over the Toronto Raptors in the first-round playoff series following a blowout win Thursday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

"Something special is happening — and it’s not happening because of a couple of lucky bounces. It’s happening because my guys are for real," Parker writes.

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Parker also offers this to Milwaukee fans who have supported him through two difficult injuries.

"So, to Milwaukee: I just want to take a line and say thank you. I feel it when you come up to me, I feel the support."

Key takeaways:

• Point guard Giannis Antetokounmpo: "He is just constantly working on his game. Constantly. He knows this team and this city are relying on him. And he hasn’t let us down."

• Forward Michael Beasley: "One guy people constantly overlook on this team."

"You can put Michael in and he changes the whole pace of the game. Like, he’ll give you ten points in six minutes, that’s how good he is. And he’s probably one of my favorite people I’ve been on a team with, because he’s also just a great guy and a big family man — I really hope people know that. "

Perhaps the most striking part of the piece is what Parker, 22, has to say about Milwaukee.

"Milwaukee, man … it’s home. You know I’m a Chicago kid, and Chicago will always have a big piece of my heart. But with Milwaukee for me it was just love at first sight. As soon as I got here, I was like, Wow, this is the place for me. I love this city."

He adds: "One thing I do have control over, regardless of my playing career, is knowing that I want to raise my own family here someday. It’s that deep."