Starting a Franchise: Jahlil Okafor or Ben Simmons?

Is it better to use Ben Simmons or Jahlil Okafor as a solid foundation for building up a solid franchise?

Almost every other year there is a guy that becomes the new and shiny toy that everyone loves. In 2014 it was Andrew Wiggins in belief that he’d become “The next LeBron James.” This year the new shiny toy is without a doubt Ben Simmons. He’s on ESPN almost as much as Stephen Curry and is compared to the likes of Magic Johnson and LeBron James. Most fans will just go with whatever the major publications are saying about players and take it as an absolute.

I am not one of those fans. While a lot of Philadelphia 76ers fans put their hope in drafting Simmons to save the franchise, I believe the franchise guy is already on the roster. I believe this guy was a better college prospect than Simmons and I believe he will be the better NBA player when it’s all said and done. The guy I am talking about goes by the name of Jahlil Okafor. Fans are quick to overlook what they have and salivate over players they don’t have. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

If I had to start a team from scratch, and I am looking to win championships, I am picking Okafor before Simmons more often than not. Okafor had hype coming into college, but I don’t think it was anywhere near Simmons level. Some of the things that people bash Okafor for, they praise Simmons for and give him the benefit of the doubt. Let’s get into why I think Okafor was a better college prospect than Simmons first.

COLLEGE:

Measurables play a big part in assessing a prospect so I’ll start with that. Simmons is a small forward/power forward who stands at 6’10” in shoes, has a wingspan of 7’0.25″, a standing reach of 9’0.5″, and weighs 240 pounds according to draftexpress.com. Okafor played Center in college and is 6’11 in shoes, has a wingspan of 7’6.25, a standing reach of 9’3, and weighed 272 pounds according to draftexpress.com. Okafor has a big advantage in length and strength while Simmons has the advantage in explosiveness and quickness. Onto the stats:

More from The Sixer Sense

Jahlil Okafor Per 40 Minutes: 23.0 points per game, 11.3 rebounds per game, 1.7 assists per game, 1.0 steals per game, 1.9 blocks per game, 3.3 turnovers per game, 64.1% true shooting percentage, offensive rating of 119.9, defensive rating of 95.4, .235 win shares per 48 Minutes, player efficiency rating of 30.7 , box plus-minus of 10.9, and a strength of schedule of 9.87.

Ben Simmons Per 40 Minutes: 22.3 points per game, 13.6 rebounds per game, 5.7 assists per game, 2.0 steals per game, 1.1 blocks per game, 3.6 turnovers per game, 60.2% true shooting percentage, 119.2 offensive rating, 97.6 defensive rating, .221 win shares/48 minutes, 29.7 player efficiency rating, 12.1 box plus-minus, and a strength of schedule of 6.69.

What you can take away from these statistics is that these guys have a very similar impact on a game and similar stats. Notable:

Okafor did what he did as “the man” on a championship winning team with a much tougher strength of schedule. Simmons team is currently unranked and 16-12.
Simmons was a much better passer
Okafor had a defensive rating 2.2 points better than Simmons. This was viewed as his main weakness coming out of college yet he posted a rating better than Simmons, but still Okafor was and is bashed for it and Simmons is seen as an elite defender. Okafor also had 0.4 more fefensive win shares (although he played 10 more games than Simmons has currently). Simmons has a DBPM 1.2 points better than Okafor in his college season.
Simmons will be 20 years and 3 months old when he starts playing NBA ball. Okafor is currently 20 years and 2 months old and is already in his 5th NBA month.

As far as eye-test goes, Okafor in college last year looked like a much more translatable scorer than Simmons. Simmons looks like a guy just taking advantage of small guys with strength. Simmons puts up awkward shots at times and doesn’t really have a go-to move. How does the “best prospect since LeBron” only score 4 points in 40 minutes versus NC State, an unranked team? He is a terrible shooter as well. Being a terrible shooter hurts a lot more at the positions Simmons might play (PF, SF, and PG) than Okafor’s positions (PF and C).

Okafor in college looked like a far more translatable scorer because he’s taller, much stronger, has a wingspan half a foot taller, and had an incredible amount of moves down low that Simmons does not have. Simmons scoring curve against taller, stronger, faster, longer, and smarter NBA players seems a lot more steeper than Okafor’s. I know people will say, “Simmons best attribute isn’t even his scoring, it’s his passing.” Well, let’s talk about that.

For someone who’s best attribute is passing and is supposed to be like Magic Johnson, his passing isn’t that great to me. People need to know the difference between great for a certain position, and great overall. Simmons is a great passer for a forward, but compared to the average NBA point guard he’s just an average passer. Okafor scores almost 21 points per 36 minutes as a rookie NBA center.

That isn’t just a great number for rookies or centers, it’s a great number for any player at any position in any amount of years a player has played. Simmons has a assist to turnover ratio of less than 1.59/1. What will it be in the NBA versus taller, faster, stronger, longer, and smarter defenders? Not to mention a great assist to turnover ratio in the NBA is 3.00/1. Simmons’ ratio is nowhere near that in college playing against shorter, slower, weaker, and less experienced players. The players he’s facing are not even the best college players based on his strength of schedule. Magic Johnson, in his college season at 19 years old, averaged 9.3 assists per 40 minutes. Simmons averages only 5.7 assists per 40 minutes so that comparison is very weak to me.

NBA:

The reason I believe Okafor is our franchise player and will be a better player overall is because he has truly elite skills on offense and is easy to build around. He already has a vastly improved shot and is not even 3/4 way through his rookie year. He is also getting better on defense. The 4-out 1-in method won him a championship as a freshman in college and can win him championships in the NBA. Okafor will most likely be the best offensive center in the world in a few years. Imagine surrounding him with 4 above average shooting defenders, cutters/penetrators, and defenders. I see Okafor being the best scorer and rebounder on a championship team. I don’t think Simmons will be the best anything on an NBA championship team. Simmons does not even have a defined position right now.

Simmons can’t shoot which will negate his handles when trying to drive because defenders in the NBA will sag off. He won’t be able to bully NBA forwards, and he can’t guard or blow by NBA point guards. If he had the speed of a John Wall it’d be different. If he had the handles of a Kyrie Irving or post moves like Okafor it’d be different. If he could jump like Aaron Gordon it’d be different. If he had any kind of jumpshot it’d be different. But guess what, he has none of those things which means he most likely won’t be an elite scorer. The point guard position is the deepest position in the league so wherever he goes, there will be a better option to handle the ball than him. Based on the eye-test and statisitics, Simmons doesn’t look to be the greatest of defenders either.

Sure you can surround him with shooters like you can with Okafor but he doesn’t demand double and triple teams like Okafor does and he does not look to be of the Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo passer in my eyes. Simmons would be a great complimentary guy or a great number two guy on a team like Scottie Pippen was. I just don’t think you build a team around Simmons and expect championships. There is a difference between building with and building around somebody.

As far as the LeBron comparisons go, Simmons isn’t in his league athletically at the same age and LeBron is an average career NBA three point shooter on about four attempts per game. The NBA three point line is farther away from the hoop than in college and Simmons can’t even make threes from the college range.

Next: Joel Embiid is Back on Track

I say “The Process” has already went through the hard part of finding a future superstar and guy to build around. Having Noel, Saric, Ingram (possibly), etc. would just be the icing on the cake. As Demarcus Cousins, arguably the best big man in the league and NBA Superstar said a couple weeks ago, “Jahlil is going to be a problem man.”