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Jahlil Okafor Dunks On Young Fan

By Chase Senior

Jul 14, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) holds the ball away from New York Knicks forward Alex Kirk (53) during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 14, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) holds the ball away from New York Knicks forward Alex Kirk (53) during an NBA Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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Heading into the 2015 NBA Draft, the biggest knocks on Jahlil Okafor were that he was a subpar defender, he struggled from the free throw line and lacked elite athleticism.

That didn’t stop the Philadelphia 76ers from selecting the former Duke star and NCAA National Champion with the third overall pick after being passed on by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers.

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Okafor proved his worth during the Utah and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, averaging 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in five games.

Okafor’s defense and free throw shooting could still use some fine tuning, but his offensive game dazzled and he hasn’t stopped getting buckets, even though his team has a break before the Sixers start training camp on September 29 at Stockton College.

During the Sixers annual “Beach Bash” in Avalon, NJ this past weekend, Okafor showed that his athleticism may be underrated, after he threw down a vicious dunk on a young fan, who bravely challenged Okafor on the court. (Maybe he should think twice next time)

Check out the clip below, courtesy of the Sixers twitter:


Okafor takes the kid to school, twirls the basketball behind his back, throws it off the backboard, then climbs the ladder and rips down a thunderous two handed slam – all while rocking cutoff sweats and low top Chuck Taylors!

Sixers fans all probably took a collective breather after seeing Okafor dunk in such unstable shoes. After all, the fan base haven’t seen their first selections in the prior two drafts play immediately after Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid were chosen with injuries at the time, but Okafor is 100 percent and moving around just fine.

Can you imagine Okafor posting up Marc Gasol or Dwight Howard down low and pulling off a repertoire of moves like that?! The entire Sixers bench would jump out of their seats.

The “Okafor Era” is well underway!

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