With 76ers’ backing, Jahlil Okafor adjusting to NBA

Jahlil Okafor hasn’t had the smoothest transition to NBA life.

Okafor’s Philadelphia 76ers have been the league’s worst team as the franchise’s interminable rebuild sputters to nowhere. And perhaps more surprisingly, life away from the game for the former Whitney Young star has become an issue, as he was suspended for two games earlier this month after repeated off-the-floor incidents.

Yet 76ers coach Brett Brown still praises Okafor. Effusively, and not just for coachable and skilled the rookie is.

“The thing that I know more than anything is, those of us who know him or get a chance to talk to him, all you’ve got to do is like look at him and interact and you see he gives goodness, and he’s a good guy,” Brown said. “The situation that happened was unfortunate. He was ashamed. He was embarrassed. I feel like that seems like a distant memory.

“I’m sure there’s scars, but raising anybody in the NBA, let alone somebody that has a profile like he has and is 19 years old, there’s challenges all over the place.”

There have been plenty of challenges for Okafor, who turns 20 on Tuesday.

Though he entered Monday’s game averaging 17.6 points and 8.1 rebounds, Okafor has experienced losing at a level he’s never encountered, either in high school or at Duke. The 76ers were 1-24 before Monday’s contest and already buried in the Eastern Conference.

At least outwardly, Okafor was keeping positive before his first game back in Chicago as a professional.

“Living my dream. It’s been a lot of fun. I don’t look at is as starting the season off with a lot of losses,” Okafor said. “It’s my rookie campaign and working on improving and having a lot of good days. Coach always talks about good days adding up and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Okafor also dismissed the notion he would benefit from having more veterans in the Philadelphia locker room.

“I have everything that I need. If I need help I can just ask somebody. I can ask our coach,” Okafor said. “I can ask our GM. I have a lot of help here. Putting an older guy in this locker room I don’t think would affect anything. I have everything that I need.”

And though it came in a regrettable way, maybe he can learn from the off-court episodes. Maybe they can even shape him for the future.

“So in a twisted way I hope we look back at that experience – all of us – the program’s perspective, from his perspective and it toughens him up and hardens him and teaches him a real hard life lesson,” Brown said. “We are with him. I am personally with him. I’m very fond of him.”