UNDRAFTED in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft, Filipino-American guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr. gets another chance to fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA.
The 22-year-old Parks made the 12-man roster of the Dallas Mavericks Summer League team, giving the former National University standout an opportunity to showcase his talent and become the first local-born Filipino to suit up in the NBA.
Parks and the Mavericks will meet the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday (Saturday in Manila), then face Portland Trail Blazers the following day. The Washington Wizards will be the Mavericks’ next foe on July 14 before the teams will be seeded for a tournament starting on July 15.
Each team will be guaranteed to play at least five games at the COX Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center inside the University of Nevada-Las Vegas campus.
Penetrating the Dallas training camp may be a long shot for Parks, a two-time Most Valuable Player in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, but it gives him a legitimate shot at his NBA dream.
Listed at 6-foot-4, Parks, who will wear jersey No. 9, will have a stiff competition for the guard spot, especially that the Mavericks are reportedly trading for Jeremy Lin, the first NBA player with Taiwanese descent, to beef up their guard rotation that also include Devin Harris and JJ Barea.
Leading the Dallas Summer League team are Maalik Wayns, Darius Miller, Jordan Crawford and Jeremy Tyler, players who have NBA experience and are now hoping to land a contract in the league.
The Mavericks’ No. 21 pick Justin Anderson and 52nd selection and 7-foot-2 center Satnam Singh Bhamara, the first Indian-born player to be selected in the NBA draft, are also on the roster.
Other players in the lineup are Dwight Powell of Stanford, Kevin Pangos of Gonzaga, Okaro White of Florida State, Pablo Aguilar of Spain, Justin Anderson of Virginia and Alex Stephenson of the University of Southern California.
Kaleb Canales will handle the Dallas’s Summer League team.