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Where will Duke’s Jahlil Okafor be picked in the 2015 NBA Draft?

By Cameron La Fontaine

Feb 14, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) prepares to shoot a free throw against the Syracuse Orange during the second halfat the Carrier Dome. Duke defeated Syracuse 80-72. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) prepares to shoot a free throw against the Syracuse Orange during the second halfat the Carrier Dome. Duke defeated Syracuse 80-72. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Duke center Jahlil Okafor is headed to the NBA Draft but where will he be drafted?

Former Duke center Jahlil Okafor has accomplished virtually everything possible for a 19-year-old basketball player. After the 6-11 center helped Duke win their fifth national title earlier this week, he announced Thursday that he will declare for the 2015 NBA Draft.

The announcement doesn’t shock anyone after he had been a one-and-done lock since before his year even started. Okafor backed up that assumption with his dominant play for the Duke Blue Devils all season. Okafor averaged over 17 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for Duke and he helped lead them to the National Championship game after he played exceptionally for most of the NCAA Tournament. He scored 26 points against San Diego State in the third round and had a good game against Michigan State in the Final Four, finishing with 18 points and six boards.

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Jahlil Okafor has been so good, in fact, that his dad thinks he’s the greatest player to ever come out of Chicago. Okafor has an NCAA Championship and he was a first team All-American this year. He was also Illinois’ Mr. Basketball in 2014 and he won a state championship as a senior in high school en route to being named a McDonald’s All-American.

Okafor’s father, Chukwudi Okafor, told TMZ that Okafor is better than anyone to come out of the city:

"“Jahlil is the best player to ever come out of Chicago. My son’s absolutely the most decorated player ever from the city.” Discussing his awards and honors, his father said, “Not many people can say that. Actually, not one other person can say that.”"

Chicago, if you didn’t know, is a city that has produced players like Dwayne Wade, Jabari Parker, Derrick Rose, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Garnett, Anthony Davis, Michael Finley and Tim Hardaway among many others.

When asked what NBA team should draft Okafor in the 2015 NBA Draft, his father said, “We really have no control over where he ends up, but I’ll say this, I love New York and L.A.”

Here’s the good news for Okafor’s father, there is a pretty substantial chance he could end up in either one of those two cities. As it stands right now, the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks are both in the bottom four teams of the league. That will give each team a great chance at winning the NBA Draft Lottery for the No. 1 overall selection.

If the Knicks get the No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft, it’d be a good fit  because they need a big man like Jahlil Okafor to team up with Carmelo Anthony. Right now the Knicks are working with Lou Amundson, Jason Smith and Andrea Bargnani and they’ll definitely be trying to fill a talent gap in their post in the draft.

But, the if the Knicks get the first pick they’d have two guys to choose from: Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns.

Okafor is a low post guy who can make great moves around defenders with a quick spin to the rack or make a nice jump hook. The biggest question for Okafor is whether or not he can play the same way against guys that are bigger than him, like he’ll have to face in the NBA.

In the National Championship game against Wisconsin, Okafor was challenged by 7-0 center Frank Kaminsky and lost in the stat battle. Okafor had 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting with just three rebounds. Okafor did, however, just play 22 minutes due to foul trouble, which isn’t a great sign either.

Nonetheless, his match-ups against bigger guys are a question mark. In Duke’s first matchup against Wisconsin back in December, Okafor had 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting and had six rebounds in 27 minutes. He was on a team with great scoring talent around him with Justise Winslow, Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones, it wasn’t like everything depended on Okafor.

I think if Okafor needed to take over a game and didn’t have the help of the ever-so-clutch Tyus Jones on the floor with him, statistics would have been different.

At 6-11 with what he was able to do in college, I expect Jahlil Okafor to be a force in the NBA and to go off the board rather early.

h/t Black Sports Online

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