MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Believe it or not, Jahlil Okafor says it’s been a positive road trip for the Sixers.
Never mind the fact the Sixers have yet to win this season and can tie the all-time record for consecutive losses with another defeat at the FedEx Forum on Sunday night, or that Okafor was involved in a fight outside of a Boston nightclub early Thursday morning.
Ultimately, Okafor says, the Sixers are getting ever-so closer to winning a game.
“It’s fun playing every day because there’s a new opponent and you’re getting ready to play and we’re getting so close to winning,” Okafor said.
But as far as the fight in Boston, a report from CSNPhilly.com John Gonzalez that Okafor had a gun pulled on him last month and a new report that the 19-year-old rookie was pulled over for driving 108 mph over the Ben Franklin Bridge three weeks ago, Okafor wasn’t discussing those matters with the local press covering the Sixers.
“I’m not talking about anything but basketball. I already made my statement,” Okafor said.
Okafor’s statement came in the form of a series of Twitter posts shortly before Sunday’s tip against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In the Twitter posts, Okafor said:
Needless to say, it’s been an interesting start to Okafor’s NBA career. Off-court incidents aside, he's hoping to lead his team away from a bit of dubious NBA history on Sunday night. It also comes one game removed from a loss in Houston, where the Sixers set the all-time record for consecutive losses for a major North American sports franchise.
Most kids out of college or most NBA players never experience what Okafor has gone through in the first 17 games of his career.
NBA
Plus, Okafor is averaging 33.2 minutes, tops among all NBA rookies. He also leads all NBA rookies in scoring (18.0 ppg), field goals and field-goal attempts. With 7.9 rebounds per game, Okafor is third all of all rookies.
That’s the fun part. The unique part is the grind of the NBA season. Though he had been warned about the travel and hectic schedule before he joined the Sixers, there is nothing to prepare for it.
"There’s a lot of traveling and we’re all we have. I knew that going in,” Okafor said. “You’re not with your family or friends, you’re with your teammates most of the time. You get closer in that sense, because you’re with each other every day be it on the plane or the hotel or in meetings or going out to eat.
“For me coming right from college you can’t really prepare for anything like this because you have class and things like that. There’s no way you can prepare for it, but you hear from guys talking about how much you’re on the road.”
Essentially, Okafor is out on the road with his teammates who are — more or less — the same age as him. The Sixers are the youngest and least experienced team in “the history of the sport,” according to coach Brett Brown, and maybe a few more veterans on the roster could have better helped Okafor avoid certain issues off the court.
“It would be very important because we’re a young team with young players. We’re trying to step up and be leaders,” Okafor said. “Our only true veteran is Carl Landry so he’s always answering questions for me, but other than that we have guys who are 23 and 24 stepping up and trying to be leaders because they happen to be the oldest guys.”
Then again, Okafor has never played on any team with veterans. Two years ago, he was in high school, and last season, he was the center for the national champion Duke Blue Devils.
In a different era, the Sixers’ roster would be comprised of six players finishing up their college eligibility. Instead, all of those players are in Brown’s rotation.
So when he’s looking for sage veteran advice, Okafor has reached out to players on opposing teams.
“I have a lot of people I can hit up around the league, some older guys,” he said. “But I don’t know anything other than being on a team with young guys without a lot of experience.”
In the meantime, the Sixers and Okafor head home for a game Tuesday night against the Lakers before heading back out on the road for a game in New York on Wednesday night.