62 Facts About Jahlil Okafor

1.

Jahlil Obika Okafor is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico of the NBA G League.

2.

Jahlil Okafor was selected with the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

3.

Jahlil Okafor played high school basketball in Chicago, Illinois for Whitney M Young Magnet High School, where he earned high school national player of the year awards from McDonald's, USA Today and Parade.

4.

Jahlil Okafor signed with Duke as a package with Tyus Jones, with widespread recognition as the preseason Collegiate National Player of the Year.

5.

Jahlil Okafor's father, Chukwudi, known as Chuck, is a second-generation Nigerian American of Igbo descent, and his mother, Dacresha Lanett Benton, was African-American and European-American.

6.

Jahlil Okafor permanently moved in with his father to the South Side of Chicago and then to Rosemont.

7.

Later the family moved to Chicago's North Side so that Jahlil Okafor could attend Whitney Young High School.

8.

That year, Jahlil Okafor feels he was not one of the "key players" on the team, but attending tournaments with elite players such as Austin Rivers and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist inspired him to be one.

9.

Jahlil Okafor was selected by the Chicago Public League Basketball Coaches Association to its 25-man boy's All-City team.

10.

Jahlil Okafor was one of twenty sophomores chosen as Underclass All-Americans by ESPN HS.

11.

Jahlil Okafor was one of 10 USA Today preseason All-USA selections.

12.

Jahlil Okafor was named as one of the top 5 Illinois Mr Basketball contenders prior to the season by the Chicago Tribune's Mike Helfgot.

13.

Jahlil Okafor was recognized as a 2013 All-Public League first team selection by the Chicago Sun-Times along with Nunn, Parker, Alexander and Billy Garrett, Jr.

14.

Jahlil Okafor was joined on the Chicago Tribune preseason Illinois Mr Basketball top 5 by Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Tyler Ulis and Keita Bates-Diop.

15.

Jahlil Okafor only produced 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists as he battled Xavier-bound Sean O'Mara.

16.

Jahlil Okafor was selected to the 10-man Team USA for the 17th annual Nike Hoop Summit on April 12,2014, at the Moda Center.

17.

Jahlil Okafor was selected to the 24-player 37th annual April 2,2014 McDonald's All-American Boys Game at the United Center.

18.

Jahlil Okafor was recognized as first team All-City along with teammate White, Alexander, Louis Adams, Jr.

19.

Jahlil Okafor was selected as the 2014 National Player of the Year from among the 20 Parade All-Americans.

20.

Jahlil Okafor was recognized by the McDonald's All-American Game organization as its 2014 Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year.

21.

Jahlil Okafor spent his sophomore season ranked as the number one center and second best player in the national class of 2014 by SLAM Magazine behind Andrew Wiggins, according to SLAM's Franklyn Calle.

22.

On October 25,2012, Andrew Wiggins announced that he was reclassifying into the class of 2013, which cleared the way for Jahlil Okafor to assume the number one ranking in the Rivals.

23.

Jahlil Okafor remained number one according to Rivals with its March 14,2013 rankings update, following his junior season.

24.

Jahlil Okafor was selected as Preseason Player of the Year by CBSSports.

25.

Jahlil Okafor was a Preseason All-American first team selection by USA Today, CBSSports.

26.

Jahlil Okafor finished second in the conference Preseason Player of the Year voting to Marcus Paige.

27.

Jahlil Okafor was listed as a John R Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 candidate.

28.

Jahlil Okafor was named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy and Wayman Tisdale Award Watch Lists.

29.

Jahlil Okafor was the first freshman to win ACC Player of the Year.

30.

Jahlil Okafor was a first team All-ACC selection and among the first trio to be selected to the All-ACC Freshman first team.

31.

Jahlil Okafor was named USBWA National Freshman of the Year and the 2015 USBWA Freshman All-America Team by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

32.

Jahlil Okafor was a unanimous 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American first-team selection by The Sporting News, USBWA, National Association of Basketball Coaches, and Associated Press.

33.

Jahlil Okafor contributed to a national championship with 10 points, including 2 key baskets in the final minutes, in the championship game of the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, despite spending much of the game in foul trouble while defending Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin.

34.

On June 25,2015, Jahlil Okafor was selected with the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

35.

Jahlil Okafor was suspended by the 76ers for two games.

36.

Jahlil Okafor finished fifth in the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting and earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.

37.

Jahlil Okafor began the season on a 16-minute cap to be played over "smaller segments" and restriction from back-to-back game participation following the re-aggravation of his meniscus injury.

38.

Jahlil Okafor was selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge event during All-Star weekend.

39.

On November 1,2017, Jahlil Okafor revealed that he would welcome a trade or buyout from the 76ers, after the team decided to not pick up the fourth-year, $6.3 million option on Jahlil Okafor's rookie deal, after having tried to trade him for some time.

40.

Jahlil Okafor saw time in only two games in the first 5 weeks of the season.

41.

On December 7,2017, Jahlil Okafor was traded, along with Nik Stauskas and a 2019 second round draft pick, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Trevor Booker.

42.

Jahlil Okafor had played just 25 minutes all season for the 76ers.

43.

Jahlil Okafor would wear the number 9 for the rest of the season.

44.

On December 1,2020, Jahlil Okafor signed with the Detroit Pistons.

45.

On September 22,2021, Jahlil Okafor signed with the Atlanta Hawks.

46.

On February 23,2022, Jahlil Okafor signed with the Zhejiang Lions.

47.

On November 4,2022, Jahlil Okafor was named to the opening night roster for the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico.

48.

On February 4,2023, Jahlil Okafor's rights were traded, along with Shabazz Napier, Bruno Caboclo, and Matt Mooney to the Delaware Blue Coats in exchange for Skylar Mays, Justin Robinson, and Raphiael Putney.

49.

Jahlil Okafor was a member of USA Basketball's 12-man Team USA at the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Cup with Parker and Nunn again.

50.

Jahlil Okafor was named the MVP of the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Cup, for the gold medal-winning United States team.

51.

Jahlil Okafor posted 17 points and 8 rebounds in the gold medal game.

52.

On 23 February 2020, Jahlil Okafor told ESPN's Marc J Spears that he would represent the Nigeria national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

53.

Jahlil Okafor averaged 9 points over three games in the group stage.

54.

Jahlil Okafor's parents met in Fort Smith, Arkansas when Chuck played basketball for a local junior college.

55.

Jahlil Okafor has an older sister, Jalen, and two younger brothers named Jamonte and Ashondre.

56.

Jahlil Okafor's parents had basketball scholarships at Carl Albert State College at the same time.

57.

Jahlil Okafor plays chess and the saxophone as well as the tuba.

58.

Jahlil Okafor is a distant cousin of fellow NBA player Emeka Okafor.

59.

Jahlil Okafor is of Nigerian descent through his paternal grandfather who moved to the US from Nigeria at the age of 20.

60.

Jahlil Okafor traveled to Nigeria when he was in seventh grade.

61.

Jahlil Okafor used to be a vegan so that he could prevent his knees from swelling, but he changed his diet when he realized that there was a deficiency in his iron.

62.

Jahlil Okafor has his own chef to make sure that he gets a sufficient amount of protein in his diet.