Projecting the 2015-2016 NBA All-Rookie Team
By Brad Rowland
Center – Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia 76ers
Jahlil Okafor is my Rookie of the Year choice, and it is an easy one.
Okafor was the consensus top player in the 2015 class for a long, long time, and while he may have been lapped by Towns in the closing months, his ability is unquestionably impressive. More than anything, though, the former Duke star is being handed the best opportunity to impress voters with massive statistical production as a rookie.
Philadelphia plays an up-tempo style and the team features virtually no one that can stand in Okafor’s way for touches and shot attempts. That should result in significant opportunity, and Okafor’s polished post-up game will be on full display. There are some questions about whether Okafor can ever become an above-average rebounder at the center position, but Philly will be missing a lot of shots on the perimeter (I’m sorry, Sixers fans) and that should result in a number of easy buckets for the big man as well.
His defensive limitations are well known, and they are the reason that Towns went ahead of Okafor in June’s draft. For me, though, Okafor’s defensive issues have become vastly overrated, and while he won’t be good as a defender early on, there is a defined route to competence that could be fulfilled sooner rather than later.
Jahlil Okafor might average 18 points and 8 rebounds per game as a rookie, and if he does, the Rookie of the Year race won’t be close. He’s the guy.