Shooting Guard

Despite being a natural power forward, if needed Parker could run as an oversized two. He’s averaged 14.9 PPG on his career and has shot as high as 49.4% from the field. Parker is unafraid to work around the perimeter, with as much as 28.3% of his shots coming from beyond the arc in a 2020. This past season he worked primarily as a big, although has seen minutes at small forward. His 7.1 rebounds per 36 minutes are nothing to write home about, meaning his presence on the boards will hardly be missed. Parker, who is quoted as saying “They don’t pay players to play defense,” would contrast Ainge in terms of play style, but is granted leeway due to his knack for scoring from anywhere.

Parker was being recruited by BYU as early as his freshman year but opted for Duke instead. He has remained an active member of the LDS church, however. Sports Illustrated editor said that what sets him apart from a storyline perspective is that “A lot of people preach they’re into faith… Jabari actually practices that. We found [Parker’s religion] is more important to him than basketball.”