Jabari Parker was still a freshman at Duke University in 2014. He was fighting with Andrew Wiggins to be the top overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
In Jan. of that year, Bleacher Report’s Daniel O’Brien wrote an article pondering whether Parker would be the next Carmelo Anthony or Paul Pierce. O’Brien predicted Jabari would be a “more efficient version” of Melo. This wasn’t the first time Jabari and Carmelo were linked together.
Parker spoke to reporters after leading the Blue Devils to a blowout victory over the UCLA Bruins on Melo’s home floor.