The wait is over. Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker has completed all the necessary tests and has been cleared to return to game action.
Parker, who tore his the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Feb. 8, 2017, will make his return at 7 p.m. Friday when the Bucks host the New York Knicks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
"He progressed really quickly in the early phases of his rehab, which is really nice," Bucks director of performance Troy Flanagan told the Journal Sentinel. "In the first ACL rehab, he had a fair bit of patellar tendinitis which slowed the whole thing down a little bit even though he did come back reasonably early. We saw a great progression early in this rehab that allowed us to really capitalize on his fitness.
"He's faster than he's ever been, he's stronger than he's ever been and he's leaner than he's ever been. I'm really happy with how he's come back and his fitness levels. He'll still need a little bit more game fitness, but we spent the past six weeks trying to give him as much game play as we possibly could. He'll progress up in minutes fairly quickly."
As with everything else surrounding his rehab process, Friday's return doesn't represent a new experience for Parker, the No. 2 pick in the 2014 draft. His rookie season was cut short when he tore his left ACL for the first time on Dec. 15, 2014, against the Phoenix Suns.
He spent nearly 11 months out of game action before returning on Nov. 4, 2015. He appeared in 76 games during the 2015-16 season, averaging 14.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
After a healthy summer, Parker demonstrated clear improvement last season. He was averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while going from a 25.7 percent 3-point shooter to hitting triples at 36.5 percent.
However, he experienced a second setback, tearing that left ACL again last February in a game against the Miami Heat. That set off another extensive grind of rehab to get back to playing shape.
This time, Parker was better prepared both mentally and physically for the demands he would face, which he and the organization hope will pay dividends as he gets back on the court.
Of course, the question with Parker is, will this be his last problem with his knee?
"If you go look in professional football _ European football, soccer _ you'll see a lot of players have had multiple ACLs and they have long careers," Flanagan said.
"We're not particularly concerned about it. He's relatively low risk in this phase, particularly looking at some of his numbers. In all of the fitness parameters we look at, he's not only better than what he was in the past, but he has some of the best numbers on the team.
"So he's ready _ 100 percent _ to go."
As far as Flanagan's concerned, Parker, in conjunction with the Bucks' medical and training staff, has done everything possible to put himself in the best position going forward.
"I think I should acknowledge that (head strength and conditioning coach) Suki Hobson and senior physical therapist Andrew Small have done the work," Flanagan said.
"Those guys have been working really hard with him, along with the coaching staff, to ensure that he comes back a better athlete this time and that's definitely what we're seeing. It's been hours and hours every day working on all aspects from his game to his strength, working to ensure this never happens again."
