By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
There isn’t a single doubt in Jabari Parker‘s mind that the winning free throws he made in Game 3 of the EuroLeague playoffs between his Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus were the most important of his career so far.
“Yeah. For real,” Parker said when asked by Eurohoops. “Right now is the most important time of my life as far as basketball goes. Ever. Because I’m here in the moment. It was enjoyable. Just being here.”
Parker won a foul by Olympiacos big man Filip Petrusev on a 3-point attempt in the very last moment of overtime with the score tied at 80. While booing from more than 12,000 fans was piercing his ears, the American forward made two free throws which were more than enough to push Barca to the 82 – 80 road victory and the 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. After losing in Game 1 at home, the Blaugrana are now one win away from the Final Four and have the opportunity to finish the job Thursday (2/5) in the same arena.
“You got to tip the hat off to the other team,” Parker said on Olympiacos. “They played a hell of a game. We couldn’t get this type of atmosphere and we couldn’t get this type of competition from any other team than them. They are a great team and we enjoyed the competitive nature.”
Olympiacos was up 69 – 63 with 2:03 left in regulation but Barca found two great looks by the ideal player to get them and the one man that the Reds shouldn’t have left wide open in any possible scenario: Alex Abrines. He hit a pair of triples and Nicolas Laprovittola made a tough reverse layup to tie the score with six seconds remaining as Nigel Williams-Goss missed the shot to win the game for the hosts.
“We just stayed locked in,” Parker commented. “I wasn’t involved for a while but I didn’t let that get to me.”
While not seeing himself as that “involved” in certain parts of this clash, Parker finished with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds during the 37:54 he spent on the floor. No other player from either side played more minutes.
He’s definitely building a case for being the MVP of the series so far, after dropping a season-high 24 points (on 11 out of 17 shots) in the Game 2 win.
Barca seems to have the upper hand considering also that no visiting team has ever won in the decisive Game 5. History favors the hosts in these “do-or-die” affairs since the home side has advanced through all 18 of the previous Game 5 situations.
Parker knows that streaks are meant to be broken and wants to stay collected and focused on the task at hand, being aware that Olympiacos is famed for its resilience and durability.
“I just to focus on tomorrow’s game,” Parker said. “We aren’t in the Final Four yet. This [Olympiacos] is a team that can win two in a row. We’ve seen that. We’ve seen them having that capability.”
Parker, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2014 Draft, played 321 games in the NBA over eight seasons before moving overseas for the first time in his career last summer to join powerhouse Barcelona in Spain. He made 11 playoff appearances with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018 and the Boston Celtics in 2021.
“So far the games have been a lot closer,” Parker said when Eurohoops asked him to compare the playoffs in the NBA and the EuroLeague. “A lot of times in a Game 4 or Game 3 whatever, you’ll get blowouts because of homecourt advantage. But even when they played us at Barca the games were very close. And that’s the level of competition. Everybody can play, everybody is smart and very strategic. European basketball is great basketball.
While in Europe, Parker has experienced an entirely new brand of basketball culture and style of hoops. Due to the EuroLeague regular season having 34 games, there’s an increased sense of urgency that he’s come to appreciate.
Parker’s European adventure includes trips to arenas filled with extremely loud, hostile atmospheres that ooze passion, sometimes to the extreme. It’s completely unlike anything he had ever witnessed before.
“We got to give these fans the deserving of their money,” Parker said when asked by Eurohoops if the NBA would benefit from a European-type game atmosphere and if it would improve the overall product. “They pay big money to watch these games and it’s up to us and our organization to show that. I don’t like when a team takes off nights or sits out players. It happens but in the EuroLeague, this is high-level competition. We play for every game. I don’t know what the environment is out there. But I know for here [in Europe], people come to watch basketball. It’s just different. Maybe in the NBA, people just watch [attend] games to socialize and to network and to eat a lot of food but you don’t see the fans leaving their seats here.”
Photo: Barcelona