Role Player of the Week: Jahlil Okafor
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Brian Cassella/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
We know everything Stephen Curry and LeBron James do. We sound the alarm over every Anthony Davis block and dunk.
That’s all fair, but it makes it easy for role players to not get properly recognized. In the ebb and flow of the season, several role players go through hot streaks that go under the radar.
We’ll try to rectify this issue by awarding a Role Player of the Week Award. This is to highlight a superb week by a player who may not get a ton of coverage. This week’s winner is Jahlil Okafor.
Some might debate calling Okafor a role player, as he was the No. 3 pick in this past draft and is currently the leading scorer for the 76ers. But it’s hard to call anyone on Philadelphia better than a role player at this point in their careers, and it’s easy to make an argument that Okafor has been mostly a negative while on the floor this year.
His defense, particularly in the pick-and-roll, has been abysmal, and his offensive game doesn’t involve the three-point shot, so he has to be incredibly efficient to be a useful player. At times this season, that hasn’t been the case.
Okafor currently has the worst plus/minus on the worst team in the league, per NBA.com. He hasn’t played well with Nerlens Noel, which has left a lot of questions about the future of the two players in Philadelphia. Considering he was taken the pick before Kristaps Porzingis, many have seen the play of Okafor this year as a disappointment.
But anyone wanting to write Okafor off as a bad pick already needs to slow down. He may have struggled mightily at times this year, but most rookies have issues adjusting to the league, and he’s already flashed the potential to be one of the best offensive players in the post in the league.
Look at this spin move in the post:
That’s the move of a crafty veteran, except it was done by a 20-year-old. He’s also developed some counters quickly in his NBA career, and his offensive footwork is fantastic.
All rookies have to deal with adjusting to the league, but few have been in as tough a situation as Okafor. His primary skill is post scoring, and he needs to get the ball in good spots to be successful, but he’s spent his rookie year with the least talented perimeter team in the league.
Not only has Okafor not gotten the ball in good spots on the 76ers, but he’s faced constant double-teams since teams aren’t afraid of anyone else on the court. It might help him in the long run to be doubled so often early in his career, but it’s made him struggle at times in the short term.
However, Philadelphia was able to acquire point guard Ish Smith, and he’s helped Okafor’s game. Smith is by no means a savior at the point, but he’s certainly a better playmaker than the other 76ers guards:
On that play, Smith did just enough to lure Mason Plumlee into the lane with him. Once Smith passed the ball, Okafor had Plumlee a step off him. Okafor didn’t end up with an easy shot, but his ability to dive into Plumlee and use his strength resulted in a shot he can make often. Smith is getting Okafor the ball in positions like here, and it’s making the big man’s life a lot easier.
The early returns on Okafor’s pairing with Smith have been great. In the 152 minutes Okafor has shared with Smith, the big man has a true shooting percentage of 62.7, per NBAwowy.com, a sparkling number for someone shooting at a fairly high volume. Heck, Philadelphia has even outscored opponents with these two on the court, which is hard to say for any pairing of 76ers for the year.
As with any sample size this small, there are concerns that some of this data is matchup-based. But it’s not absurd to think Okafor will thrive with a talented backcourt if Philadelphia can ever get one.
The defense is still a concern and surely limits his upside. The lack of success with Noel matters, as well, and Brett Brown is trying to separate the two big men as much as possible. In the three games this past week, Okafor and Noel played just 41 minutes together combined.
But Okafor’s impressive play of late has meant much more production while he’s on the floor. On the season, he may have the worst plus/minus on the team, but over the three games this past week he led the 76ers with a +9. It’s often hard to gauge a player’s value over a few games based on plus/minus, but in this case, his numbers line up with how he’s playing. He’s been a real asset to the 76ers recently.
If Okafor can continue to be a monster in the post and improve his defense to even passable levels, he’ll be a true force in this league. And with everything he’s had to deal with as a rookie, it’s nice to see him playing well.
Statistics through games played on Jan. 17.