There are so many ways to look at it. I went to Russia and worked my butt off for two years. I didn't baptize a lot of people and really didn't teach a ton of discussions. Proselyting was against the law in parts of the mission at the time (we could only answer direct questions about the church when asked), so our job was mainly to be a presence in the country to help awareness of the church, to be a good example, to do as much service as humanly possible, and to plant seeds in peoples hearts about the church. That is a much different mission than my friends, who went to Brazil and had baptisms every week and days full of discussions. But that was MY mission. I often think about how many people I encountered over there have since taken discussions and been baptized. I wonder if Steve Young thinks about how many people he introduced to the church, just by being who he is. I have to think that there are some out there that had favorable opinions of the church because their favorite QB was a member.

For me personally, there were so many valuable experiences I had on my mission that I would have never been able to have otherwise. But it would have been a whole different set of valuable experiences had I gone somewhere else. But an elite athlete that chooses to forgo those experiences and cash in on his celebrity and talents while at its peak will have a whole different set of valuable experiences that I'll never have. He has an opportunity that really only a relatively small handful of LDS people have had. For most of his life, he will be able to walk into a room and everyone will know who he is and what he's about. He will be on posters hanging on kids walls (or backgrounds on their phones). There will be more Sports Illustrated articles about him that millions will read. People will buy shoes because Jabari likes them. He'll be able to reach millions and millions of people by himself (I reached hundreds and didn't make millions for myself and family while doing it). And this could continue on after he's retired (see Young and Ainge).

Its a very personal decision, but if my son had the opportunity to go #1 in the NBA draft and had the character and testimony that Jabari appears to have, I would make him seriously consider skipping the mission. I doubt Steve Young's parents have any serious regrets about not making him go.