Everything I Am

Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker showed flashes of brilliance last season that indicate an All-Star selection in ’16-17 is within reach. More importantly, the 21-year-old has become one of the most outspoken players in the League when it comes to social issues and giving back to the community, especially in his home city of Chicago.

- Franklyn Calle

Wow, this house is big!” After spending some time taking in the extensive outdoor space, a young boy, about 7 or 8, walks through sliding glass doors and stops in his tracks, causing a traffic jam as a few others behind him take their shoes off and wait outside.

This kid, though, is busy gasping as he looks up toward the balcony above the living room, eventually commenting on its impressive size. “Yeah, I want to live here!” responds another grinning youngster.

An older gentleman sitting on a couch smiles and nods softly. “Yeah, but you know what? It’s the people inside the house that matters—that’s what makes the home,” he tells them.

This house is big. About 5,000 square feet. And the outrageous ceiling height here in the living room makes it look even more spacious than it already is. We’re in Grafton, an affluent suburb north of Milwaukee. Bucks forward Jabari Parker bought this house for his parents after becoming the No. 2 pick in the 2014 Draft.

The kids? They’re just two of the eight campers who stopped by the house with their guardians after the culmination of Parker’s two-day summer basketball camp. They’re here for a family meal put together by the former Duke star’s parents. And the man offering those words of wisdom? That’s Parker’s father, Sonny, a fomer NBAer who played six years with the Warriors from 1976-1982.

The scene at the Parkers’ home on this Friday in August is just another reflection of what the camp aims to enforce. Dubbed the “Family Jabari Parker Camp” instead of the more grammatically correct “Jabari Parker Family Camp,” the emphasis was on the importance of placing family first— by doing so literally in the camp’s title.