By way of the NBA Draft, Sam Hinkie’s blueprint for the rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers is tapered towards finding the next superstar in The City of Brotherly Love. The methodology has been to swing for the fences with the best talent available, regardless of need, in hopes of landing a star capable of carrying Philly to the Promised Land.
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Thus far, the high-risk, high-reward gamble has matched Philadelphia with a monstrous defensive talent with limited and uncertain offensive capabilities in Nerlens Noel, along with a superstar talent that may fail to register a single minute of action until his third NBA season in Joel Embiid. To begin this star-seeking process, the Sixers traded away a proven All-Star in Jrue Holiday, the fluidly gifted floor general who was dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans in order to acquire Noel. Moments later, the 76ers drafted Holiday’s replacement and eventual 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year, Michael Carter-Williams. But he too was shipped off during the All-Star break of his sophomore season.
The result: two seasons in which fans have patiently trudged along with a team that’s looked incapable of competing, even at a mediocre level. But the grass now begins to appear much greener considering what Philadelphia’s purposeful losing gained them with the No. 3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
For the past several years, center Jahlil Okafor has topped his respective class as the best player in the nation. Okafor entered Duke as the top-ranked freshman in the country and departed for the NBA the following year after winning a National Championship, earning Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year honors, becoming the first freshman to win ACC Player of the Year, in addition to a consensus First Team All-American selection. Until the latter portion of his lone season in college, Okafor had been widely considered the clear-cut favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in the draft, and justifiably so.
Despite the defensive and athleticism concerns, Okafor’s offensive prowess has led to many deeming him as the most skilled low-post scorer to enter the league since Tim Duncan’s arrival in 1997, who happens to be Okafor’s life-long idol. These praises have been present dating back to Okafor’s high school days, in which Jon Rothestein of CBS Sports noted, “The Chicago native is the type of jaw-dropping talent that comes along once every couple of decades.”
But even with all of all the accolades and film to reinstate Okafor’s offensive potential as a superstar, there’s still the belief out there that due to Okafor’s limitations on defense and concerns about his weight, he may never live up to his pro potential, and could even become a bust. Prior to the draft, 538 projected Okafor as having a 5.9 percent chance to become a star and a 29.6 percent chance of being a bust. With the earliest showings of the NBA’s latest rookies behind us, those forecasts look to be anything but accurate.
To this point in his very young basketball career, Okafor has quite easily lived up to the towering expectations that have followed him by simply having one goal in mind: dominate. The same mindset that’s still present, even as a newcomer at the highest level of basketball in the world.
"“My role is to dominate,” Okafor said. “I’m one of the centerpieces of the team, so my role is the same.”"
He dominated at Chicago’s Whitney Young High School, averaging 24.1 points and 11.3 boards as a senior. He dominated in college at Duke, compiling 23 points and 11.3 rebounds per 40 minutes, and he did much of the same offensively in some of his earliest showings as an NBA player, averaging 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Due to Okafor’s extensive offensive repertoire and polish in the paint, there’s a very legitimate argument to be made that he’s already the best player on the 76ers roster, even before making his official NBA debut. This is nothing new for Okafor. He’s been the best player on his team his entire life. But stepping into the spotlight of an NBA franchise that seems to constantly find themselves under media debate – whether for praise or scrutiny – Okafor will be under a magnascope unlike any he’s experienced yet.
Is he ready to step into the light as the centerpiece of an NBA franchise at only 19 years old?
Okafor certainly believes so, per the Washington Post.
"“I am ready,” Okafor said. “I was the No. 1 player out of high school, so I always had a lot of attention and then I went to Duke University, one of the bigger schools in the country, won a national championship. So I’m used to it. I think I’ll handle it pretty fine.”"
Okafor will immediately be featured as the focal point of an offense that ranked 29th in points per game last season (92.0) and dead last in offensive efficiency (0.922), per teamrankings.com. This, in large, was due to the Sixers inability to consistently find points in half court settings.
Sure, the young, athletic Sixers can be exciting when they’re running and gunning in fast breaks, but to win games, you have to do more than simply score in transition and that’s where Okafor will prove to be an instant game changer. In 2014-15, Philadelphia ranked last in the NBA in team shooting percentage at 40.9 percent. Okafor’s lone shooting stats massively trump those numbers after the 6-11, 270-pound big man shot a staggering .664 percent at Duke, which was the biggest component in Duke’s 3rd ranked offensive efficiency rating of 1.172.
The list could go on of where the Sixers will surely improve upon with Okafor clocking significant minutes. But this is to be expected with Okafor’s arrival. Look no further than his summer league efforts for proof.
Along with the aforementioned 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in Vegas, Okafor displayed numerous signs of future stardom. He had the confidence, comfort, footwork and touch down low that very few big men in the entire league can compete with. Outside of drifting a little too close to the perimeter – where Okafor can take advantage of isolations – he seemed to understand where to be on the court, for the most part. In both, his Vegas outings and the Utah Summer League, Okafor demanded the ball offensively and outside of the expected rookie errors and numerous unlucky bounces, Okafor has his way with nearly everyone that match up with him.
Okafor did noticeably struggle a bit against longer, more athletic big men. But it would be irrational to immediately assume this will become a long-term issue, considering the individual development emphasis the Sixers staff puts forth and the reality that Okafor’s daily competition in practices and workouts will be one of the longest and most athletic interior defenders in the league – Nerlens Noel.
For those two reasons alone, we can expect Okafor to be miles ahead of where he was in summer league once the regular season arrives.
And then there’s the work ethic factor.
Days before Okafor’s first ever game as a 76er, he earned the attention and praise from head coach Brett Brown, per the Daily News.
"“I was in the office at 6:30 the other morning, and he’s in the gym working with a trainer. You then go upstairs and get ready for a day’s work and you feel great. I’m really excited to coach him, and the program is going to realize very quickly how special he is.”"
Okafor will be able to hold his own in the NBA on talent alone, but when you include the unmatched confidence – even as a rookie – and the work ethic to transform that goal to dominate into a reality, you end up with a future star for years to come.
Grantland’s Andrew Sharp said it best: “If Okafor continues growing into his game and turns into a 25-12 monster every night, all the questions about defense and free throw shooting will seem overblown. The team that drafts him over Winslow won’t be thinking about Cousins over Leonard, it will be looking for Duncan over Leonard. Given the polish, quickness, and size Okafor has at 19 years old, that’s not entirely out of the question.”
Philadelphia isn’t looking for that pivotal role player to be a Robin with no Batman. They already have a handful of those and the result has been 37 wins in the past two seasons. The Sixers need that bonafide star to build a championship franchise around and all the evidence suggest Okafor will become just that.
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