Jabari Parker And The History Of Top Picks Recovering From Injury

Adam Morrison, Forward, Charlotte Bobcats, 2006 #3 Pick.

Morrison drew both praise and criticism for his intense style of play while at Gonzaga. Play that ultimately led to a historic still of him crying when the Bulldogs lost in the NCAA tournament. He was passionate to say the least.

NBA scouts lauded his shooting and scoring but were quick to cite his athleticism, size, and strength as potential areas of weakness. Undeterred the Charlotte Bobcats picked up Morrison at #3 (ahead of Brandon Roy and Kyle Lowry).

Despite the knocks on his game, Morrison got off to an impressive start to his NBA career. He showed the ability to score, though inefficiently, and hit the three ball.

Pre-Injury Stats: 11.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, .376% shooting. 

Not bad. Not numbers befitting of the #3 pick, but reasonable enough in a draft class that produced just five future All-Stars.

Unfortunately for Morrison he suffered an ACL tear during a preseason game against the L.A. Lakers after colliding with Luke Walton.

Morrison was forced to miss his entire sophomore season due to the injury, but was able to make it back for the following season. The player that returned from the ACL injury was changed, slowed, and noticeably lacking confidence.

Post-Injury Stats: 4.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, .9 apg, .360% shooting.

Morrison lasted just two more seasons in the NBA and even would even win (fittingly) a championship with the Lakers in one of them.

Suffice to say if Jabari Parker wins a championship in his third season people will remember that team as one of the fastest turnarounds in professional sports history.

On the other hand the Bucks have approximately .000001% chance of winning that title if Jabari Parker averages 4.5 ppg.

Jabari Outlook: No more Gatorade promos…ever.

Next: Greg Oden