NBA Rookie Rankings: Willie Cauley-Stein Debuts at #3
By Scott Harris
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
- Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia 76ers
Even though I roughed him up a bit while touting Towns, Okafor has still been pretty good to start off his NBA career. Okafor is averaging 20.0 points a game and has led his team in scoring in 2 of their 3 games this season.
Like I said earlier, Okafor needs to make his presence felt in more places than scoring the ball. In 36.7 minutes a game, the 6’11”-275 lb. center Okafor is only averaging 5.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.7 blocks.
When looking at the per-36 minute stats for all rookies who average at least 10 minutes per game this season, Okafor does not rank in the top 10 for assists, rebounds, steals, or blocks (every other player on this list is in the top 10 of at least 2 of those categories).
Fortunately for Philadelphia, they have Nerlens Noel to help pick up the slack defensively in the front court, so Okafor’s lack of other skills won’t cripple the 76ers.
Next: Number 3