NBA.com released its annual rookie survey this week, which polls all of the rookies, and the class had some favorable feelings for Okafor.
A whopping 41% of the rookies said that Okafor, not top overall selection Karl Anthony-Towns, or second selection D'Angelo Russell, would win the coveted Rookie of the Year award in 2016. Detroit's Stanley Johnson came in second with nearly 20% of the total vote, and the Timberwolves' Towns landed in third with 13% of the total vote.
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| Photo by Michael Kaskey-Blomain |
If Okafor were to win the award it would make him the second Sixer in the past three seasons to take home the hardware, following in the footsteps of now current Milwaukee Buck Michael Carter-Williams. Nerlens Noel finished third place in Rookie of the Year voting last season behind Andrew Wiggins and Nik Mirotic.
On top of predicting that Okafor will be the league's top new talent, fellow rookies also feel that the former Blue Devil will have the best overall career. 24% selected Okafor in the best career category, while Towns came in second at 17%.
It is clear that other rookies have a great deal of respect for Okafor, and expect him to do big things both this season and throughout his career.
While he will have his fair share of competition for the Rookie of the Year award this season, Okafor should have ample opportunity to put up some solid stats with the Sixers, both this year and going forward in the future. The team lacks legitimate offensive options, and especially in light of Embiid's continued absence, Okafor will have every opportunity to develop into a go-to guy. He has a legitimate chance to develop into a 20-10-type player for the Sixers, and may be a guy that the team can base its offense around. While his skill set will certainly develop and improve over time, it seems safe to expect Okafor to hit the ground running in terms of production for the Sixers this season.
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