Held His Own
The team was never designed to provide Jahlil Okafor with a scheme he would thrive in. To be honest, the team was focused on the healthy return of center Joel Embiid, and upon learning complications had developed, selected Okafor in the 2015 draft as insurance.
While many expected this move to result in an immediate trade, the team held fast with the intent to play Okafor as Embiid continued to rehab. But Okafor was selected after another center that year. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Karl Anthony Towns number one overall. Get used to it. Jahlil Okafor will be compared to Karl Anthony Towns his entire career. So how did Okafor do in a head on clash? 25 points to Towns’ 6 points.
But Okafor faced some of the NBA’s best, and performed very well. In this video, he faced DeMarcus Cousins, and nearly kept pace with the veteran center. For Cousins’ 28 points, Okafor put up 26 points.
In the end, Jahlil Okafor held his own against the NBA’s best, both present and future. Keep in mind that his team was not built to his specs. He did much of his season on his own.
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