How BAD Was Jahlil Okafor Actually 

I played against him in AAU when we were kids, dude was already like 6'5 in the 6th grade lmao. That was my "basketball might not be in your future" wake up call when I realized there were kids my age that big.

It's a common misconception post moves are dead. I mean look at players Embiid, Jokic, Al Horford and even young players like Sengun or Mobley. Being sble to score in the post is actually an asset, the only issue is you should be able to do more than just score in the post you should provide defense, spscing, playmaking, reb etc on top of being able to score in the post.

He wasn't bad at all!!!! Philly should have traded him immediately after the jersey drop!!!! No one used him properly or, really gave him a chance!!! Some players you can destroy with the team they are drafty by!!!

Played against Jahlil in Florida during AAU summertime season back in highschool, let’s just say I don’t remember him not being apart of every basket scored that game. Goes to show that the NBA is a different beast entirely

He was not that bad. Played in the wrong era. He wasn't agile that made him look even worse. But, there were games he was dominating in the post. Couldn't defend in this era because of his slowness. On the offensive end he could still compete.

You can do a whole video on every player drafted by the sixers from henkes era, even Embied, eventually. The fact that Embied bas been able to overcome the losing DNA and unaccountability that was bred by that entire organization is amazing, but it will never overcome what a joke that franchise was during those years.

If he played 10 years earlier he would be more fondly remembered

Dude had a long streak of 20 point games. He was the best post player in the game. He Couldn’t shoot threes, rebound , pass or defend. If he could just do one of those things he’d still be in the league. If he could even do two of those things he’d be a starter and a possible all star

When Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin are currently bench warmers, that tells you how hard it is to make it in the NBA!!!

Okafor had the post up skills, but I always thought that he was a little bit clunky. Even in the 90s and 2000s when posting up was everything, I feel like he would have been eaten alive because his moves were so slow. Look at his moves vs. the moves of Shaq, TD, KG, and how agile those guys were. Okafor looks so robotic out there when he's doing that. Smooth? Sure, but slow af, he didn't have that intensity and if he did he could probably still be viable today.

i think if he was drafted by the LAL, his career would have been different. you float over his time in NO, when AD was out, he was a focal point, i think he had a run of like 10 games, where he was averaging 20 ppg 8 rpg.

Damn shout out to him and his family. Him and his sister grew up in Arkansas with my lil bro and sister. They used to play games until a tragedy in his family with his mom. RIP to her I’ve seen pics she was beautiful and heard many good stories from my stepmom who was her best friend. He was a beast at duke when I first seen him play. Good games

Man, all of these videos are really good. You put so much context in them, and i appreciate that.

At least, he made 20M before his NBA dreams came to an end.

busts should always say a public apology for the team that drafted them

Ouch - it's rare to see such a talented college player who has physical NBA skills just bust...

Guy was all offense and never developed other parts of his game. Low rebounding numbers for man his size.

He was basically the Duncan Robinson of the post. Duncan just stands behind the three point line, Jahlil just stood just outside the paint

Okafor vs KAT debates before they played in the nba was a fever dream. I remember KAT being compared to Cauly-Stein but then got surprised by KATs offensive game

There are two kinds of busts: the ones where the players are not beinh as good as expected and the other is the the other is the team messing a player up.

Dude was 6’ 7” before high school. Dude never had to “try” on defense, learn to shoot, or pass, in the NBA you have to work on your craft and evolve your game or you will disappear.

Duke fan here-I’m disappointed in how his career went. But I’ll ALWAYS be thankful for what he did for us in 2015, because it may not ever happen again, who knows.

We liked him here in Detroit we just had young players we had to develop which is sad because Okafor never got that treatment in Philly

He was never a bust he got drafted by a tanking team that just wanted to tank remember they drafted 3 center each year Noel Embidd Okafor they could’ve build around him but didn’t

Could you make a video about Josh Jackson and Skal Labissiere both former number 1 recruits in their respective classes.

Offense was never the reason why he's a bust. Coaches refused to play him because of his atrocious defending

I actually feel bad for him...he could have been special..I was mad my Lakers didn't draft him..he just went to wrong franchise ..

Should still be in the league.

To think the Sixers took Okafor over Porzengis is something I will never be able to fully comprehend...but it's gotta be difficult losing a parent at such an early age. And from people I used to know who saw Okafor play in college; people believed that he could be a premier superstar in the NBA, but unfortunately it never really turned out that way.

Technique wise one of the most skilled centers EVER just played in the wrong era

To be successful in the NBA is incredibly hard. I watched him since high school. He always had the talent just the NBA crazy difficult

This is an amazing career compared to most. NCAA champion, first round draft pick, multiple million dollar contracts as well

Getting this in my recommended after Zach Edey lost in the NC is nasty work lmao

If he drafted by in 80s and 90s he would be great

Would love to see a video of my all time favorite, Shawn Kemp.

Decent college player whose weaknesses got exposed and exploited in the NBA. Nuff said!!!

He didn’t fail especially coming from where he came from !

The main effect of this video was to make me mad that KAT isn't better

He tried to dunk on me in high school I got tf out the way tho🤣

I was a Duke fan and I argued with so many people telling me he’s NBA ready while he was at Duke. I just didn’t see it and thought he’d benefit on another year in college. I thought he was soft and in college he was able to use his ability well just didn’t think he was NBA ready. Same thing with Ben Simmons I didn’t think he was ready either.

everytime i see him i think about the video they caught of him with a pack of raw cones and grabba he kicked back cooling lol i always keep eyes on his career

Calling that mismanagement is a joke. The only mismanagement was drafting him. Okafor sucks, he was a turnstile on defense, had nothing to offer on offense outside of the post. The sixers didn't tank his value, his value eventually regressed to what it was supposed to be. Noone was going to trade meaningful assets for Okafor

There needs to be context for every “bad” or “bust” player ever. They are far better than us that judge them. We don’t have the talent or credentials to say they such since we couldn’t do what they do. Plain and simple, it gets to a point where it sounds like jealousy and envy.

A center who can’t defend at all, and is a black hole on offense is a bad combination.

It’s crazy to think that Nikola Jokic, who’s not your typical NBA player with a basketball type body, is way more talented, skilled, and stronger than Okafor will ever be. Just shows that you can have all the height and the body of a typical NBA player but if you lack confidence, skills, high basketball iq, you’ll never be an NBA star.

When the NBA wants to get rid of you, they always say you're lazy or hard to work with. Like the creator of the video said...the 76ers didn't give the kid a chance. They sat him on the bench and killed his confidence.

I am a huge Timberwolves fan and I’m actually paid to talk about basketball as part of my job and I legitimately wanted them to draft this guy over towns

Can't believe some of the comments here lol. I'm a Sixers fan who rarely ever misses a game and yes that includes the "process" years. I really wanted Okafor to succeed because he was met with nothing but doubt from "Process" Sixers fans, but those fans were quickly proven right as Okafor's rookie season went on. It really came down to his lack of athleticism being the main culprit of his ineffectiveness. Defensively, he offered absolutely zero rim protection because he could barely get off the ground. Anytime he got hot and made some buckets, it didn't matter since he was useless guarding the paint. Offensively, yeah he had some post-moves, but he wasn't anywhere near consistent enough scoring the ball and was actually a ball-hog who got tunnel vision when he caught a pass.....you can make the same argument with Embiid play-style wise, but Embiid is 10x the athletic specimen Okafor is and developed into a MVP-caliber player. It seemed to me that his dad Chucky drilled Jah the same 5-6 post moves growing up and they were literally all the kid had when he got to the NBA. That stuff worked against Wake Forest and VA Tech because Jah had such a wide big-body frame for a 19yo so he was able to get buckets. Once he got to the NBA that shit wasn't going to fly and he had zero athletic ability and lateral quickness to measure up to the NBA vets. He may have had the slowest feet of any player i've ever seen. I hear people say "well he was on a tanking team, He was only 19 - they didn't develop him etc." but that's bullshit....the kid just wasn't an NBA caliber athlete at the Center position and didn't have nearly enough intuition mentally to overcome it...if he did, he'd still be in the league

Okafor was like an embid offense wise

If he came into the league now he would do great he just hit the league at a weird point where people over reacted and were predicting the death of the big man

The nba did him so wrong. He was actually really good whenever he got time on the court

People give Morant shit for recent events but forget this big dummy was literally fighting random people at bars during his career

First time here, great deep dive on Okafor. Definitely earned my sub, looking forward to Adam Morrison next.

BUST PERIOD

I think Okafor if he was drafted to the Lakers would have been a different story for sure. His character was lacking a little and he did not do what was needed which was on him. However, I could not think of a worse situation for Jahlil than where he got drafted. He went to a team that had pick 3 straight centers. That had a poor coaching staff. A team that in his first year would cater to him in such a way to let his style of play not have to grow and adapt in a crucial time. Then by the time it could they hardly play him and throw him away. This casued his confidence to plummet and really just led to him making a serious of mistakes due to his poor mental health. All of this was preventable if Jahlil had more maturity and a better mindset but if he went to a team witha better developmental staff and somewhere where he would have had to work to get his minutes his first year while also not being in a race with 3 other centers the next year it is likely he could have ironed out more of the holes in his game. We will truly never know if Okafor was just not good enough or if the sixers ruined him. Maybe a combo of both.

Center is the only position where u need 2-3 years to develop. U gotta develope the intangibles, being around large crowds of people, u gotta learn how to play against people ur size & bigger, u gotta develope stamina and proper eating habits, u gotta know what to do with ur Free time. Smh when u chase the bag & get it and look inside... U might get zonked !

After seeing his fight outside the nightclub me and a buddy of mine used to always pretend to throw right hammer punches at each other yelling Okafor! Good times cuh

for some reason this guy and dennis smith itch peoples brains in a weird way that makes them imagine an alternative universe where they were good but they never really were for obvious reasons

He is a good guy, he is playing in my hometown team here in Spain and i was his server the other day. I asked for a photo and he was very polite in broken spanish❤ 12 and 5 in around 20 minutes per game

That "trust the process " is some shhhh

The nba got away from that style of play slow half court offense it’s more run and gun played outside on the perimeter

I’m a sixers fan and was big on Okafor. He had a good rookie year, and I wouldn’t consider him a bust at all. His biggest weakness was his poor defense in protecting the rim.

I remm Knicks wanted to pick him .. I wish him luck he seems like a good kid

He came into the league when it started to shift to how it is now .

A lot of this just comes down to flat out serendipity just a few good matchups in the post during the optimal moments (injuries included on either side) in the season coupled with the right decisions in on any given night leads the media in the direction of spinning the entire narrative at a 180, and the next thing you know whatever skills you may lack the team/organization is parring you up with the perfect collective of people to hone your skills and suddenly you’re a hero and not a zero, plenty of players much worse and far less skilled than him just linger around with 3rd 4th and 5th chances as we speak…this holds true in just about everything

Bruh was a beast on 2k17.

Do a Bench Simmons next!

If he came into the league 20 years earlier, he'd have been a hall of famer or at the very least a multiple time all star

With all the missed draft picks, the Sixers are blessed to at least have Embiid.

4:58 looking at that first team all-rookie and find out how Jokic is leaps and bounds ahead of them all and Jahlil is leaps and bounds below them all

17 with 66% then 12 with 51% then 8 with 60% wtf 😭😭😭😭 hes not getting buckets because obviously the offense doesnt run through him but thats efficient and shooting better than some nba players thats really crazy

I think he should’ve stayed in college for 3 years and really developed his game

I swear Philly never gets held accountable for how they've ruined the careers of a lot of young role players. They lucked up with Embiid, someone like Jahlil would've benefited from true player development and veteran leadership. You can say what you want but Nerlens Noel, Markel Fultz, and Ben Simmons may never have been star players but I think would be in more sturdy places as the same for countless others if they were drafted by a team who cared.

It was Bryan collangelo that refused to trade him. If Hinkie was still there he would’ve moved on from jah way quicker . People criticized him for moving on too quickly after drafting players. We flipped MCW right after he was roty and people thought he was dumb

These dudes be squandering their NBA chances. Basically you win the lottery every year and yet, these dudes just give it all up

I can't believe you actually made that title for the video. He could have been the next Time Duncan but the league want to shoot 3's now.

Get this guy to the euroleague!

I'm a Knicks fan and I really wanted him. Was totally pissed when we got Porzingis. Then a strange thing happened, Philly played NY in the summer league and Porzingis absolutely destroyed Okafor. Just doninated the guy in a way I never would have imagined. Okafor got so frustrated with getting his shot blocked that he threw a couple of cheap elbows and lost his cool. That was the beginning of the end for Okafor. He had a great low post game but not the dominant athleticism needed to become the player everyone thought he was coming out of Duke. On top of that he was a below avg rebounder, passer and a detriment on defense. He quite literally affected the gravity of the opposing team's offense when he checked in as teams suddenly just started coming right at the basket because Okafor couldnt protect the rim. I fully admit I was completely wrong about him. Thought he could have become another prime Cousins but he was just overhyped.

I was so disappointed when my Lakers drafted D'Angelo Russell instead of him

Dude was a beast when the pelicans picked him up during boogies injury

i genuinely think he coulda been something special if he went to any other rebuilding team besides the 76ers

I feel bad I forgot about this guy until I saw this..

He’s not a kid, he’s a man, show some respect devil!

he wasnt bad at all, he was good

So depression, poor management and this is 2015 so a torn meniscus all affected his potential. I watche brook lopez turn into a defensive floor spacer during jahlil’s career so it’s disappointing see his career unfold

At least he made a fortune before teams realized how mediocre he was.

I always thought Okafor could play I’ve never seen A team literally Destroy there top pick

Remember arguing with people over this guy. Most people called me crazy saying KAT was so much better. Not just because of my UK bias it just seemed evident watching how both played.

Still got alot of love for Jah I wish when he traded for him to Bk we would’ve gave him an actual shot. If he was drafted 7 years earlier he’d be a multi time allstar the defense would’ve got better

The sixers are 65% of the blame because he couldve been a nice player with the right team

People who complain about The Process clearly weren’t around Philly post DR J, the 90s and outside a year with AI in the early 2000s, the Sixers haven’t been a serious organization for decades. Even the AI era was barely above .500 if that.

The other top best high school student at the time was Cliff Alexander. Bounced around the NBA G-League and over seas.

The Sixers wanted to trade him in his second year but they couldn't because he failed his medical examinations.

Please do all those notable Sixers Top Drafts after the Iverson Era.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Jalil in Miami for a bit. He’s one of the wisest, most humble and most mature people I’ve met. We chatted about Real Estate and Investments with friends. Jalil, if you see this, hope all is well brother. 🙌🏼

The dude could've been a Jokic type player but with defense

Sure seems like a lot of players become depressed in Philadelphia. Okafor, Noel, Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons

Earned $25 million by 27 years old...Any 20 something year old making just 100k is a success. No bust to me.

Okafor 🤔 three things; 1) Not athletic @ ALL 2) Born 20+ years too late (would’ve been a beast in the 80s & 90s) 3)Too good so young & didn’t have to work on his craft as others in his class matured.

Where you go is so important. Sixers for the most part, are a bad franchise .They ruined his confidence and didn't develop his weaknesses to keep up with a changing NBA. Brook Lopez could've had a similar fate, had he not joined the bucks. Slower than a replay, bad rebounder for his height, poor post defence and limited range. Lakers gave up on him but the bucks coaches saw untapped potential. They turned him into one of the best rim protectors and encouraged him to expand his range.