Aware of recent No. 2 pick history, Jabari Parker 'Trying not to be that bust'

Jabari Parker is aware that No. 2 picks haven't exactly set the NBA on fire over the past few seasons. Since Kevin Durant was selected second in 2007, players taken at No. 2 have failed to live up to expectations, to put it lightly.

Michael Beasley. Hasheem Thabeet. Evan Turner. Derrick Williams. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has struggled, too, though he has plenty of time to turn things around still, and Victor Oladipo had an encouraging rookie season. Before Durant, it was Marvin Williams, Emeka Okafor, Darko Milicic, Jay Williams and Stromile Swift disappointing.

Parker knows the stigma, and it's something he's hoping to avoid, as he told NBC Sports on Saturday:

There’s been a lot of second pick busts. I’m just trying not to be that bust. Everyday that I step on the court, I just remind myself that I have a long ways to go. If I want to be one of those guys in the first tier of the NBA, like a LeBron, like a Kobe, like a [Blake Griffin], then I have to have that mentality starting off from the ground, and work my way up.

Being the second selection certainly isn't a death knell, as greats like Bill Russell and Jerry West were number twos, and more recently, players like Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Tyson Chandler have had great careers.

For whatever it's worth, Parker's fellow freshman think he's the most likely in the class to be Rookie of the Year and to carve out the best career, and bookmakers agree on the former point.