For fans who thought Jabari Parker’s early declaration for the NBA draft will be a slam dunk, think again. Another calling could postpone those pro-athlete aspirations: his Mormon faith.
Parker, a junior at Simeon Career Academy, reveals in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated that despite the virtual guarantee of going pro after his freshman year in college, he, like many young Mormon men, is considering the prospect of embarking on a two-year mission for the church when he turns 19.
“I want to go. But I have doubts,” he told the magazine. “The NBA is the biggest dream of basketball players, and I’m no different.”
Wearing the Simeon uniform and cradling a basketball with Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline in the background, Parker graces the Sports Illustrated cover, on newsstands Thursday. The headline plays up his faith.