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NBA Draft Results: Sixers Take Jahlil Okafor With Third Pick

By Tim Kelly

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After using the first two top picks of his tenure to select Michael Carter-Williams and Joel Embiid, Sam Hinkie and the Philadelphia 76ers selected Duke big-man Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick in the 2015 draft.

Obviously, the popular pick in Philadelphia would have been to go with D’Angelo Russell with the third pick, but the Los Angeles Lakers swooped in and selected him with the second overall pick instead.

The Sixers do get a big-man with defensive and foul-shooting concerns, but he brings many of the same post abilities that made Joel Embiid such a popular pick a season ago. He also moves the ball very well, which will be key when the Sixers do eventually surround their team with a better cast of shooters.

Here’s a more in-depth scouting report from Draft Express.

"A huge share of Okafor’s offense this season came with his back to the basket, where he shows a tremendous feel for the game and is nothing short of an absolutely devastating presence. He has the size to establish deep post-position, and the strength to move players around inside the paint once he catches the ball, showing an incredibly rare combination of power, quickness and finesse. Extremely nimble, Okafor has outstanding footwork, and he does an excellent job of feeling out his defender and reacting appropriately, having all the countermoves in the book, and being capable of executing beautiful spin-moves with superb body control, often using the glass. He uses shot-fakes well and draws a foul on over 18% of his post-possessions according to Synergy Sports Technology, often finishing through contact for an And-1. Unfortunately he only converts 51% of his free throws, which is something he’ll need to improve on in time.He’s also a very good passer for a 19-year old big man, looking extremely patient with his moves and having no qualms whatsoever about throwing the ball out if he faces a double-team or sees an open teammate spotting up on the perimeter. His huge hands and long arms gives him the ability to pass over the top of the defenses to anywhere on the floor, be it with a bounce pass to his fellow big man, a skip pass to a shooter in the opposite corner, or anywhere in between. His basketball IQ is so high that it isn’t hard to see this part of his game developing even further. Whatever coach he ends up with could certainly utilize this even more from different spots on the floor as a significant part of his team’s half-court offense."

It was reported that Okafor’s agent asked the Sixers not to select him, but he didn’t work out for the Sixers and has never visited with the team, so he may not have a fair opinion on the organization and its direction.

Of course, the Sixers could still move Okafor, being that they have two-big men in Embiid and Nerlens Noel on the roster. That said, that probably shouldn’t be expected given recent news on Embiid’s foot injury not progressing the way that the Sixers had hoped it would have.

And Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski says the plan is to keep him.

Below is the remaining order for the rest of the NBA Draft. The Sixers aren’t scheduled to have another first-round pick, though various reports have suggested that the team is interested in packaging some of their five second-round picks to move back into the first-round.

4. New York
5. Orlando
6. Sacramento
7. Denver
8. Detroit
9. Charlotte
10. Miami
11. Indiana
12. Utah
13. Phoenix
14. Oklahoma City
15. Atlanta (From Brooklyn)
16. Boston
17. Milwaukee
18. Houston (From New Orleans)
19. Washington
20. Toronto
21. Dallas
22. Chicago
23. Portland
24. Cleveland
25. Memphis
26. San Antonio
27. L.A. Lakers (From Houston)
28. Boston (From L.A. Clippers)
29. Brooklyn (From Atlanta)
30. Golden State

Round Two Order

31. Minnesota
32. Houston (From New York)
33. Boston (From Philadelphia via Miami)
34. L.A. Lakers
35. Philadelphia (From Orlando)
36. Minnesota (From Sacramento via Houston)
37. Philadelphia (From Denver via Houston, Portland and Minnesota)
38. Detroit
39. Charlotte
40. Miami
41. Brooklyn
42. Utah
43. Indiana
44. Phoenix
45. Boston
46. Milwaukee
47. Philadelphia (From New Orleans via Washington and L.A. Clippers)
48. Oklahoma City
49. Washington
50. Atlanta (From Toronto)
51. Orlando (From Chicago)
52. Dallas
53. Cleveland (From Portland via Chicago and Denver)
54. Utah (From Cleveland)
55. San Antonio
56. New Orleans (From Memphis)
57. Denver (From L.A. Clippers)
58. Philadelphia (From Houston)
59. Atlanta
60. Philadelphia (From Golden State via Indiana)

NBA Draft order and pick information courtesy of Northeast Ohio Media Group

Next: NBA Draft Scouting Report: D'Angelo Russell

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