Bobby Ray Barbosa Parks Jr. (born February 19, 1993) is a Filipino-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins The are a professional basketball team that competes in the first division of the Japanese B.League. Prior to their entry into the B.League in September 2016, the club was the corporate team of Mitsubishi Electric. In 2020, the Diamond Dolphins ...

of the Japanese

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

. A 6'4"

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, he played college basketball for the

NU Bulldogs The National University Bulldogs are the collegiate men's varsity teams of National University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Bulldogs'' while the high school ...

for three years before declaring for the NBA draft in 2015 where he went undrafted.

Early life and high school career

Parks was born in

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

to Bobby Parks Sr. and Marifer Celine Barbosa. His father was playing basketball in the Philippines. Parks Sr. had been drafted 58th overall in the third round of the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

and went on to become a seven-time

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA) Best Import awardee and

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

. Parks Sr. and Barbosa separated. Barbosa moved to Los Angeles in 2003, while Parks Sr. left for

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, in 2005. Parks and his younger sister, Celine, remained in the Philippines until 2006, when his sister went to live with their mother, while he went to live with his father and his stepfamily, who were also Filipino. After moving to Memphis, Parks started playing organized basketball at the age of 13. As a freshman and sophomore, he attended St. George's Independent School in

Collierville, Tennessee Collierville is a town in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and a suburb located in the Memphis metropolitan area. With a population of 51,324 in the 2020 census, Collierville is the third largest municipality in the county after Memphis ...

, where he was named Tennessee's Division II-A

Mr. Basketball Mr. Basketball is an unofficial award given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in many U.S. states, regions, or metropolitan areas. Conversely, the title Miss Basketball or Ms. Basketball is used for the best high ...

as the state's private school player of the year in 2009. Parks transferred to Melrose High School for the 2009–10 season and helped his team win a class AAA state championship. In November 2010, he committed to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

as the No. 31-ranked shooting guard in the class of 2011, but later decommitted and followed his father back to the Philippines.

College career

In September 2010, Parks enrolled in a computer course at

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

with the hopes of playing for the

in 2011. Since Parks came from a foreign high school, he had to sit out one year before the 2011 season, which prevented him from winning Rookie of the Year as he would no longer be considered a fresh graduate. Needless to say, he still qualified for the MVP award, which he eventually won during his first

University Athletic Association of the Philippines The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univers ...

(UAAP) season with the Bulldogs, as Parks averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game and was named the Most Valuable Player of seasons 74 and 75.

Professional career

In 2015, Parks was in pursuit of being the first Filipino-born player to play in the NBA. He became automatically eligible for the 2015 NBA draft as an international player who turned 22 during the calendar year of the draft. In June 2015, prior to the 2015 NBA draft, Parks was invited to work out for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. Parks went undrafted, but received an invitation from the Dallas Mavericks to play for their Summer League team. In six games for Dallas, he averaged 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, becoming the first Filipino-born player to play in the Summer League.

NBA D-League

On October 31, 2015, Parks was selected by the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

in the second round of the 2015 NBA Development League Draft. He became the second Filipino to be drafted in the NBA D-League after

Japeth Aguilar Japeth Paul Cabrera Aguilar (born January 25, 1987) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He first played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagles of ...

in 2012. Parks made his debut with the Legends on November 23, 2015, against the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in ...

. He went scoreless in 10 minutes of play and went 0-of-2 from the field. On December 13, 2015, he scored his first basket for the Legends. Parks' putback layup with 14.5 seconds remaining gave him his first-ever basket in the D-League. He also finished with one assist and three rebounds in six minutes of action against the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

. On April 1, 2016, he scored a career-high 16 points against the

Oklahoma City Blue The Oklahoma City Blue are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and are affiliated with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blue play their home games at Paycom Center. The franchise began as t ...

. In 2015–16, Parks averaged 4.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in 32 games. After the Legends did not retain Parks for the 2016–17 season, he entered the 2016 NBA Development League Draft, where he was selected in the sixth round by the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in White ...

. He was unsuccessful in gaining an opening-night roster spot with Westchester, as the team waived him on November 9, 2016.

ASEAN Basketball League

On November 18, 2016, Parks officially joined

Alab Pilipinas San Miguel Alab Pilipinas (under the corporate name Pilipinas Basketball Club, Inc. or PBCI) is a Filipino professional basketball team which played in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) under the sponsorship of San Miguel Corporation. The team i ...

of the

ASEAN Basketball League The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) is a professional men's basketball league in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong/Macau, which includes six teams from Southeast Asian nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), one tea ...

(ABL). On December 11, 2016, he scored a career-high 41 points and 14 rebounds against the

Kaohsiung Truth The Kaohsiung Truth were a professional basketball team based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The Truth played one season in the ASEAN Basketball League. History Kaohsiung Truth was founded in 2016 as the first professional basketball team to play in Kaoh ...

. After his first season with Alab Pilipinas, he was named the local MVP of the season.

MPBL

After his stint the ABL, Parks joined the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History Manny Pacquiao launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on August 29, 2017, starting off as a semi-professional lea ...

(MPBL), an amateur regional league in the Philippines which imposes a cap on imports, including Filipinos with foreign heritage like himself. He was signed in by

Mandaluyong El Tigre Mandaluyong El Tigre, also known as Mandaluyong El Tigre-Dataland was a professional basketball team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). History They joined MPBL during the 2017 season. They named the team El Tigre, for Mandaluyo ...

in May 2018.

PBA

Blackwater Elite

Parks entered the

2018 PBA draft The 2018 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event that allowed teams to take turns selecting amateur basketball players and other eligible players, including half-Filipino foreign players. The league determined the drafti ...

where he was selected by

Blackwater Elite The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise began as one of the founding teams in the PB ...

. He was the second overall pick for that draft.

TNT Tropang Giga

Parks was traded to the

TNT Tropang Giga The TNT (cellular service), TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Associat ...

from

in November 2019 in the middle of the

2019 PBA Governors' Cup The 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup also known as the 2019 Honda–PBA Governors' Cup for sponsorship reasons was the third and final conference of the 2019 PBA season. The tournament allows teams to hire foreign pla ...

. With TNT, Parks had his first semifinal run only for his team to lose to eventual finalist

Meralco Bolts The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of three ...

. After the conclusion of the 2019 season, he signed a new one-year deal with TNT in February 2020. In the Philippine Cup, which was the lone conference for the 2020 season, Parks helped TNT to its first "All-Filipino" finals in seven years only losing to eventual champions

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

. Parks contract with TNT expired after the 2020 season. In March 2021, Parks announced that he would not feature in the PBA for the 2021 season citing personal reasons to tend to his family. However the move risked a fallout between Parks and TNT with team owner and

PLDT PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ( fil, Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas), is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service holdings company. It is one of the country's ...

chairman

Manny V. Pangilinan Manuel Velez Pangilinan, (born July 14, 1946), also known by his initials MVP, is a Filipino businessman and sports patron. He is the managing director and CEO of First Pacific Company Limited, a Hong Kong-based investment management and hol ...

to express his doubts on Parks reason for sitting out the 2021 season through social media posting a photo of him having a vacation in

La Union La Union (), officially the Province of La Union ( ilo, Probinsia ti La Union; Kankanaey'': Probinsyan di La Union;'' Ibaloi'': Probinsya ne La Union;'' pag, Luyag/Probinsia na La Union; Tagalog'': Lalawigan ng La Union),'' is a province in th ...

. While Parks is a free agent, TNT still hold the signing rights to him; he would only be able to play for another PBA team if TNT release him without pre-conditions or trade him. TNT and the PBA allowed Parks to play in Japan in July 2021 but TNT would have exclusive rights to re-sign him if he decides to return to the PBA within five years.

B. League

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins

On August 24, 2021, Parks signed with the

of Japan's

B. League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that ...

as the team's Asian import. On May 28, 2022, it was announced that Parks signed a one-year contract extension with the team.

National team career

In 2015, Parks played for Gilas Cadets at the

SEABA The Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) is a subzone of FIBA Asia consisting of countries from Southeast Asia. The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), a professional league, is the top level of club competition run by the SEABA. Member nati ...

championships and the Southeast Asian Games. In July 2016, Parks played for

Gilas Pilipinas The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipi ...

at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila. Parks was part of the team that represented the Philippines in the

2017 Southeast Asian Games Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanes ...

. They won the gold medal after beating Indonesia 94–55, winning his 3rd

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

Gold medal in the process. Five years later, Parks returned to the national team for the

2022 FIBA Asia Cup The 2022 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship) will be the 30th continental basketball championship in Asia. The tournament is organised by FIBA Asia. Originally intended to be the 2021 edition, the tournament was initiall ...

. The team failed to make the quarterfinals of that tournament.

Career statistics

UAAP

, - , align="left" , 2011-12 , align="left"; rowspan=3, NU , 13 , , 33.4 , , .433 , , .306 , , .783 , , 6.5 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 20.8 , - , align="left" , 2012-13 , 15 , , 34.0 , , .391 , , .267 , , .773 , , 7.4 , , 4.4 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , 20.7 , - , align="left" , 2013-14 , 16 , , 31.8 , , .364 , , .257 , , .732 , , 8.1 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 17.8 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 44 , , 33.0 , , .392 , , .275 , , .763 , , 7.4 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 19.7

NBA G League

, - , align="left", 2015–16 , align="left",

, 32 , , 13.3 , , .426 , , .194 , , .660 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.6 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 32 , , 13.3 , , .426 , , .194 , , .660 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.6

ASEAN Basketball League

, - , align=left , 2016–17 , align=left , Alab , 21 , , 30.2 , , .456 , , .419 , , .808 , , 7.2 , , 4.1 , , .9 , , .7 , , 18.3 , - , align=left , 2017–18 , align=left , Alab , 29 , , 31.8 , , .462 , , .356 , , .733 , , 5.2 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 16.7 , - , align=left , 2018–19 , align=left , Alab , 25 , , 29.8 , , .513 , , .407 , , .771 , , 4.2 , , 3.3 , , .8 , , .4 , , 15.8 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 75 , , 30.7 , , .475 , , .388 , , .771 , , 5.4 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 16.9

Philippine Basketball Association

''As of the end of 2020 season'' , - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left , Blackwater , rowspan=2, 32 , , rowspan=2, 37.3 , , rowspan=2, .398 , , rowspan=2, .332 , , rowspan=2, .761 , , rowspan=2, 6.3 , , rowspan=2, 3.5 , , rowspan=2, 1.4 , , rowspan=2, .3 , , rowspan=2, 18.8 , - , align=left ,

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 17 , , 39.7 , , .492 , , .458 , , .845 , , 7.8 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , 22.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 49 , , 38.1 , , .429 , , .378 , , .790 , , 6.9 , , 3.4 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 20.0

References

External links

NBA D-League profile

PBA-Online.net profile

Spin.ph profile

The lost boy of the Class of 2011
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Bobby Ray Jr. 1993 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Basketball players from Metro Manila Blackwater Bossing draft picks Blackwater Bossing players Competitors at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games Filipino expatriate basketball people in Japan Filipino expatriate basketball people in the United States Filipino men's 3x3 basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Filipino people of African-American descent Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League players Nagoya Diamond Dolphins players NU Bulldogs basketball players People from Parañaque Philippines men's national basketball team players Philippines national 3x3 basketball team players Point guards San Miguel Alab Pilipinas players Shooting guards Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Southeast Asian Games medalists in basketball Texas Legends players TNT Tropang Giga players