The Case to Embrace Jahlil Okafor as LA Lakers No. 2 Pick in the 2015 NBA Draft
In less than a month, the Los Angeles Lakers are likely to use their No. 2 draft pick on Duke’s Jahlil Okafor—a low-post prodigy whose game evokes memories of giants of the past.
That assumes the Minnesota Timberwolves take Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns with the No. 1 overall selection.
And while many Lakers fans are hoping Towns falls into their laps, there is a case to embrace Okafor as more than just a consolation prize.
As for the NCAA champion himself, Los Angeles would be a welcome destination.
Jonathan Givony of Draft Express tweeted as much on the night of the NBA draft lottery:
ESPN’s Chad Ford and Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix are both predicting that the 19-year-old will wind up in the Land of the Lakers in their respective mock drafts.
“Somewhere, Kobe Bryant is smiling,” wrote Mannix. “In Okafor, the Lakers get an NBA-ready center who can score in the post and should be a strong complement to returning power forward Julius Randle.”
The 6’11” kid with the mighty 7’5” wingspan and hands to match, can gobble up entry passes and convert them to instant points in the paint.
Yet he is also a willing distributor who could tag-team with Bryant during the superstar's final chapter. The result would be in an inside-out game that, if executed properly, could bring reminders of past L.A. success stories.
Ford recently wrote that of the roughly 100 NBA scouts and front-office personnel he has spoken with, “all but a small handful” have Towns as the top overall pick. It’s easy to see why the combo center/power forward has captured the hearts and minds of so many—his ascension has much to do with his defensive prowess and the perception that he may have a higher development ceiling.
In that regard, Towns’ popularity reflects the allure of what could be, rather than what is. With Okafor you get a more finished product.
Yet despite the differences between the two big men, their basic statistics are not so far apart if taken within the context of time on the floor. Kentucky’s head coach John Calipari used a platoon system this season that allowed each grouping to play approximately the same amount of minutes, attacking opponents in staggered waves.
| MPG | REB | AST | BLK | PPG | |
| Okafor | 30.1 | 8.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 17.3 |
| Towns | 21.1 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 10.3 |
Even considering the obvious appeal of Towns’ superior shot-blocking ability, there is plenty of reason to want a back-to-the-basket throwback with a dazzling repertoire in the paint. Okafor not only scored at will during his one-and-done season, but he also had college basketball’s third-highest PER at 31.68 per ESPN’s Hollinger statistics.
With today’s evolving trend toward positionless basketball, Okafor’s style is an homage to post-centric icons of a fading era. He has obsessively studied footage of the greats, from Hakeem Olajuwon to Tim Duncan, borrowing from the game’s best in order to be more efficient. That said, his free-throw shooting is a work-in-progress.
| eFG% | PProd | P-U PPG | FT% | Off WS | |
| Okafor | .652 | 276 | 8.5 | .545 | 1.9 |
| Towns | .588 | 191 | 7.5 | .815 | 1.8 |
Okafor’s nimble footwork, his willingness to learn and his attention to repetition and detail will serve him well as he transitions to the NBA. He has already earned the accolades of one of basketball’s true coaching legends.
“He’s as good as anybody I’ve coached at Duke,” said Mike Krzyzewski said on The Jim Rome Show in February.
And if anyone thinks that was just Coach K preaching the positives, the Hall of Famer also went a step further.
“He’s gifted and he’s really as good as a kid as I’ve coached in 40 years,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s got it all, he has no demons, he only has positives and stuff, he’s only going to get better and is a great teammate and competitor.”
Coming off their worst season in franchise history at 21-61, the Lakers certainly need more “positives and stuff.” That could include pairing Okafor with All-Rookie First Team point guard Jordan Clarkson, as well as the return of a healthy Julius Randle.
Randle and Clarkson were the story for the Lakers in last year’s draft. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman lays out the current mock draft and big board below:
Okafor has the kind of fundamental, yet polished style that should delight Lakers coach Byron Scott. The ACC Player of the Year has a high basketball IQ, sees the floor exceptionally well and possesses a unique combination of quickness, power and points in the paint.
Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated went so far as to invoke the name of a certain five-time champion from the San Antonio Spurs when describing Okafor’s promise:
"You just don’t find young big men with advanced footwork, a soft touch, and refined post moves very often. They usually develop back-to-the-basket skills later in their career. When one does come along, you take him, just like the Spurs took Tim Duncan two decades ago.
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The fact that there is even a debate about the Lakers’ No. 2 pick is remarkable. This is a team that hasn’t had that kind of lottery fortune since nabbing James Worthy as the top overall selection in 1982. L.A. has won eight NBA titles in the intervening years, so there’s something to be said for being a perennial powerhouse rather than the frequent recipient of consolation prizes.
All that said, the choice isn’t strictly a two-horse race, as Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell recently tweeted:
The idea that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak considers “four to eight players” to be in the mix, raises the possibility of the Lakers trading down on draft night. It also indicates a savvy executive seeking leverage with teams below him in the draft order.
“That’s something we would have to look at,” Kupchak said to ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd when asked if he would swap the pick. “We haven’t sat down and gone through the options, but that is an option.”
The GM further addressed that possibility during recent draft workouts at the team facility.
“Nothing’s really taking place in that regard,” Kupchak said per Lakers.com. “It would have to be a heck of an opportunity for us to consider doing something like that.”
Regardless of opportunities that could be out there, it would be an absolute stunner if the Lakers actually passed on the guarantee of either Towns or Okafor—players with the potential to shape a franchise for a generation to come.
And make no mistake, the All-American from Duke is determined to be a success and an example of making the right choices.
Okafor lost his mother when he was just nine years old. The grief-stricken fourth-grader moved to Chicago to live with his father, Chukwudi “Chucky” Okafor—a onetime basketball standout whose life had fallen into a pattern of bad choices and unfulfilled promise.
“As a parent, we all want our children to do better than we did,” the elder Okafor explained per Reid Forgrave of Fox Sports. “And my life has been a great example of what not to do or how not to choose, how to make the right decision instead of doing the wrong decision.”
Those wrong decisions turned into a redemptive tale—a father who dedicated his life to raising his son from that point on, and a son who chose to reach for greatness.
All of this has led to the next chapter in a young athlete’s life, and a golden opportunity for a team hoping to rewrite its own recent failures.
Still a teenager, Okafor displays a maturity beyond his years. He possesses the type of transcendent basketball talent that may one day become the stuff of legends.
On the night of June 25, Okafor could don a purple-and-gold cap and climb the steps to a brightly lit stage at Barclays Center.
And Lakers fans will embrace the moment, because Jahlil’s journey forward will have become theirs as well.
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