Philadelphia 76ers’ Jahlil Okafor Dominating Karl-Anthony Towns is Team’s Most Promising Moment of Season

The Philadelphia 76ers have found a silver lining to their season, in standout Jahlil Okafor

In a season filled with countless defeats, a lacking on-court product and a host of injuries, the Philadelphia 76ers found their silver lining Monday night. For any casual fan glimpsing over the schedule for Nov. 23, the 0-14 Sixers against the 5-8 Minnesota Timberwolves wouldn’t amount to DVR-worthy television.

What made this contest have an underlying theme to glimpse into was the battle between two top 2015 NBA Draft picks in Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor. While at Kentucky and Duke respectively, Towns and Okafor never faced off in their freshman seasons. If Kentucky had won their Final Four matchup with Wisconsin, the matchup would have transpired on a prestigious stage.

Monday night, the Towns-Okafor duel was largely one-sided. Okafor looked like a No. 1 pick and went after the actual No. 1 pick repeatedly in the low post in the 100-95 loss. Mixing power with finesse, Okafor got to desired areas on the court with ease and made an adept interior player in Towns look bewildered and unable to contain the Sixers rookie.

With broad shoulders, Okafor backed down Towns ad nauseum, en route to 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor. Girth was an advantage for Okafor over Towns coming out of college, as Towns’ 244-pound frame allowed him to play either power forward or center while Okafor solely operated at the five. Without resistance, Okafor caught the ball at the elbow or high post on Towns and with a few power dribbles — along with use of his torso — got to more effective levels on the court that catered to his offensive tendencies.

Towns was evidently active against Okafor, using quick hands and shifting his feet to rotate on power moves. When the Sixers’ center is making shots like this, though, not even a bulletproof interior defender like Towns can effectively contest.

That’s a rare move on any level. Okafor attempts to win position on Towns driving right, but with a head fake, rises up for the close look. With developing touch, Okafor has shown the ability to connect on jumpers in his wheelhouse.

He’s currently shooting only 48 percent — down from 66 percent in his only year at Duke — but the drop in efficiency stems from an expanded offensive repertoire and defenders honing in on him as the Sixers primary source of offensive production.

A breakout game against Towns is important because it could establish confidence for Okafor to showcase similar offensive moves against less adept defensive centers. With similar touch, as displayed here, Okafor is gradually showing his practice reps are paying dividends in game-time situations.

On the defensive end, Okafor systematically shut down Towns, who only finished with only six points on 3-of-7 shooting and failed to reach the free-throw line in the game. Ironically, Towns was lauded for his defensive prowess and intensity in college. Okafor flipped the script Monday night in Minnesota.

Driving to the basket in the first quarter, Towns passed up an open mid-range jumper to attack Okafor off the dribble. The Duke product met Towns, as Towns had to adjust his shot due to Okafor’s length, and ripped the ball out for the block. While Okafor operates on the block as a 6-11, 270-pound behemoth, rim protection has never been his forte due to a lack of athleticism and bounce.

His second block paints the picture of a more adept awareness and intensity than established last year at Duke for Okafor. Towns caught the ball with positioning from point guard Ricky Rubio near the high post. Backing down Okafor, Towns spun to his left after a power dribble for an over-the-shoulder left hook shot. Okafor used his length to slightly reject Towns’ shot and singlehandedly make Minnesota come up with an empty possession.

"Jahlil Okafor blocks Towns with ease! 🖐 https://t.co/CyPEcHhCpg — Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) November 24, 2015"

Towns didn’t get a chance to flash his diverse offensive skill set against Okafor — as he left the third quarter with four early fouls and didn’t return until late in the fourth — but nailed a long-range jumper and a post hook shot on Okafor. On the boards, Okafor clearly had the advantage over Towns with 11 rebounds to Towns’ two. He out-muscled the more chiseled Towns and had ideal positioning on loose balls.

It wasn’t the expected outcome, as Towns has been nothing short of dominant since entering the NBA. Currently averaging 15.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, this performance could be just an anomaly in a spectacular rookie season teaming with star swingman Andrew Wiggins.

The Timberwolves, however, have what Philadelphia is currently looking for; wins. Okafor is putting up rookie performances reminiscent to Michael Carter-Williams two years ago, but MCW began his career not having to consistently handle the burden of not winning games almost a month into the season.

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Okafor dominating Towns arguably was the Sixers most essential moment to date on the season, but to be remotely respectable as an organization, they are going to have to win games and not set historically poor records. With solace in knowing they made a savvy choice in tabbing Okafor in this year’s draft, he hasn’t shown the tendency to slack off and get disconnected from his work ethic despite the consistent losing. Even if wins don’t come regularly, that’s a definite positive sign for Philadelphia.