Jahlil Okafor was dominant in the college game. In his lone season at Duke (2014-15), he was a consensus first-team All-American, and he led the Blue Devils to an NCAA championship. A few months later, the Philadelphia 76ers took Okafor No. 2 overall in the draft, behind only Karl-Anthony Towns.
That seems like a long time ago, but it has been only three years. Nonetheless, Okafor’s NBA future is uncertain.
In December, the Sixers traded Okafor, Nik Stauskas, and a second-round pick to Brooklyn for Trevor Booker. The change of scenery provided an opportunity for Okafor to reboot his career, but his time in Brooklyn has not gone smoothly.
He has fallen out of the team’s rotation and has appeared in only three of the 18 games since the All-Star break. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
So, what’s next for Okafor? He doesn’t know. In weighing his options, he’ll consider playing time, money, a team’s style of play, its opportunity for success, and more.
“All that goes into it,” Okafor said, according to the New York Post. “But honestly I have no experience with this whatsoever, so I’m just trying to finish the season strong. [I’ll have] guidance from people who’ve dealt with what I’m going to deal with, and lean on them. I really don’t know what to expect. But, at the end of the day, I want to play basketball.”
Okafor will almost certainly get another opportunity in the league, but he likely won’t see the type of money he’s hoping for. This season, he’s averaging 5.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. It’s been a far cry from his rookie campaign, in which he averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Following his one season in Durham, voters named Okafor the ACC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. He also finished as runner-up to Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky in John R. Wooden Award voting.
