The Philadelphia 76ers have announced that rookie center Jahlil Okafor is out for the season with a torn meniscus. After missing the past five games with knee discomfort, he will have minor arthroscopic surgery to repair the small tear in his right knee, putting him out of action for the next six weeks. Okafor has averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in his rookie season for the 8-56 Sixers.
Aside from his November altercation outside a Boston bar in November, Okafor has enjoyed a fairly successful rookie campaign, meeting the high expectations that come along with being a top three pick in the draft. The Duke big man is currently second amongst NBA rookies in scoring and third in rebounds; however, his defense is still a huge work in progress. Even though playing for a bad team like the Sixers allows Okafor to get plenty of attention on offense, it must be awfully tough to play in that kind of losing environment every night. Many draft prospects have refused to work out for Philadelphia prior to the draft with the hopes that the Sixers would pass on them in the draft – that’s how ugly it is in the City of Brotherly Love.
With Okafor sidelined permanently, Brett Brown should experiment with more lineups that involve Nerlens Noel playing at the five, which he has done in the past five games that Okafor has missed. The front office may look to add a D-League big man to a 10-day contract as the Sixers wrap up one of the worst seasons in NBA history. While the Sixers can’t break Charlotte Bobcats record for worst winning percentage (they went 7-59 in the lockout shortened 2012 season), they are still in danger of setting the record for the worst record in an 82 game season. They need one more win to tie the record of 9-73, which of course was set by the Sixers themselves in 1973. Time and patience are both running out in Philadelphia, as GM Sam Hinkie’s master rebuilding plan is yet to come to fruition, and the Sixers are still years away from thinking about contending for a playoff spot. Jahlil Okafor should make a full recovery and contribute to a hopefully improved Sixers team in 2016-17.
