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Thursday, June 25, 2015

The Sixers draft Jahlil Okafor, add to their collection of big men

With the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Sixers selected Duke F/C Jahlil Okafor.

Okafor was widely considered to be the best player available at the time of the Sixers' selection, as D'Angelo Russell and Karl Anthony-Towns were already off of the board. Many viewed Okafor as the top draft prospect throughout the season, but concerns about defense caused his slight slip.

Still, in his single season at Duke, which culminated in a National Championship, Okafor posted impressive averages of 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and was named the ACC Player of the Year. He is a legitimate low-post scoring threat, and was projected as one of the most NBA-ready prospects in the Draft.

The Sixers now have three high-potential big men, but an obvious lack of high-caliber perimeter players. Sam Hinkie was quoted as saying that the team plans to keep Okafor, pairing him with Noel and Embiid. How exactly that will work out is yet to be seen, but legitimate star-caliber frontcourt depth is not a bad thing. If the team can't balance a rotation including all three players, one could eventually be used as a big trade chip.

A lot of questions remain, but the Sixers certainly increased their talent pool with the addition of Okafor.

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