The fledgling NBA career of Salesian High and Cal basketball player Jabari Bird may be over.
Bird, facing a laundry list of charges stemming from a September domestic violence incident in the Boston area, recently was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Atlanta Hawks, who quickly waived him.
Bird was selected by Boston in the second round of the 2017 NBA draft and signed to a two-year contract. He split his rookie season between the Celtics, with whom he played 13 games, and the G League Maine Red Claws.
In September he was arrested and hospitalized after an incident in which, according to the Boston Globe and ESPN, he allegedly choked his girlfriend unconscious about a dozen times over a four-hour period, brutalizing her repeatedly until he passed out with “seizure-like” symptoms. Subsequently it was reported that Bird had been receiving mental health treatment before the incident.
He was charged with assault and battery on a household or family member, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and strangulation or suffocation.
In late January, prosecutors added witness intimidation and threatening to commit a crime. Bird, a Richmond native, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Eight days after that court appearance, Bird was traded from Boston to Atlanta. He was waived the following day.