Fansided

25-under-25: Biggest disappointments

By Jerry Christodoulatos

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 7: Jahlil Okafor #8 of the Philadelphia 76ers watches the game against the San Antonio Spurs from the bench on December 7, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Spurs defeated the 76ers 119-68. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 7: Jahlil Okafor #8 of the Philadelphia 76ers watches the game against the San Antonio Spurs from the bench on December 7, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Spurs defeated the 76ers 119-68. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 14: Jahlil Okafor
OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 14: Jahlil Okafor /

1. Jahlil Okafor, ranked 91st

What a fall from grace for the No. 3 pick in the 2015.  Of all the players listed in this post, Jahlil probably had the highest expectations for success; many analysts thought he would be a surefire star in the league. Prior to the 2015 Draft the general consensus within the NBA universe was that Karl-Anthony Towns deserving of the No. 1 pick, but Okafor still had substantial support. Two years later the fact that Okafor versus Towns was ever a debate seems ridiculous; Jahlil has disappointed massively in his first two NBA seasons, while Towns is approaching superstardom.

Big Jah is a talented player, but his skill set is not in high demand in today’s NBA. He’s a post scorer that can’t defend at all and doesn’t rebound well. As a rookie, Okafor put up solid counting stats for a 72 loss Sixers team. Just looking at his box score numbers from that season is misleading though. Opponents obliterated the Sixers when Jahlil was on the floor, outscoring them by an unthinkable 16.8 points per 100 possessions (per Basketball-Reference). Of course those putrid numbers were not entirely Okafor’s fault, but he played big minutes and wasn’t great on either end of the floor. For a big man, his shooting efficiency was very low and his rim protection was nonexistent.

To be fair to Jahlil, Philadelphia has never been a great situation for him. With Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid on the roster, the big man rotation was always going to be jammed and somebody would have to play out of position. Okafor became a casualty of Philly’s rotational limbo, especially last season when Embiid emerged as an NBA phenomenon.

The future remains unclear for Jahlil. Perhaps his destiny is to follow in the vein of Enes Kanter and Greg Monroe. Both of those guys are big with similar limitations that come off the bench to torch opposing second units. Okafor essentially filled that role last season with mixed results. He’ll get another shot this year, but his situation isn’t promising.

Next: 25-under-25 -- The best young players in the NBA

A trade would probably be the best thing that could happen to him; we saw Jusuf Nurkic experience a post-trade renaissance in Portland. Perhaps Okafor could have a similar experience. If Jahlil’s long term niche in the NBA is to be a scorer off the bench, that would be a big letdown given the initial hype surrounding him.

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