Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Jahlil Okafor was born on December 15th, 1995 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He is a center in the NBA.

Okafor began his career playing prep basketball at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, Illinois. At Whitney Young, Okafor was regarded as one of the top recruits in the nation. In his senior season, Okafor averaged 24.1 points and 11.3 rebounds. He would be honored as Mr. Basketball of Illinois in 2014. Okafor was also named a McDonald's All-American and was named MVP of the game. USA Today and Parade would select Okafor as the National Player of the Year. Okafor would commit to Duke University to play college basketball.

At the University of Duke, Okafor would start all 38 games in his freshman season. That season, Okafor would average 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. Those numbers would earn Okafor, ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, this was the first ACC player and 9th freshman in a major conference to gain both awards in the same year. Okafor would declare for the 2015 NBA Draft.

On June 25th, 2015, Okafor was selected with the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. In his NBA career, Okafor has played for the 76ers, and Brooklyn Nets. On August 9, 2018, Okafor signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. On December 1, 2020, Okafor signed with the Detroit Pistons.