Sixers draft history: Jahlil Okafor selected No. 3 overall in 2015
This edition focuses on the 2015 draft as the Sixers held the No. 3 pick as they looked to move forward. With that selection, Philadelphia took Duke big man Jahlil Okafor as there was not a Joel Embiid showing just yet.
Advertisement
Okafor was very good as a rookie as he averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds on a Sixers team that went 10-72. He finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting and was able to show a lot of production and promise on the floor. Overall, he played 105 games across three seasons in Philadelphia before being sent to the Brooklyn Nets early in 2017-18 with the emergence of Embiid.
Okafor played 26 games for the Nets before playing three years for the New Orleans Pelicans and a season with the Detroit Pistons in 2020-21. He was out of the league for three years before playing a game for the Indiana Pacers in the 2024-25 season.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers draft history: Jahlil Okafor selected No. 3 overall in 2015

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Boston Globe
36 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Jillian Dempsey, a staple in Boston pro women's hockey, announces retirement
After spending the PWHL's inaugural season with Montreal, Dempsey joined the Boston Fleet on a reserve contract ahead of the 2024-25 season, appearing in nine games and tallying two assists. Advertisement This past season was a homecoming for Dempsey, who grew up in Winthrop and played at the Rivers School and Harvard. She began her professional career with the now-defunct CWHL's Boston Blades and was named Rookie of the Year in 2014, after leading all American-born players in scoring. She later joined and was named captain of the NWHL/PHF's Boston Pride, setting league records for games, goals, assists, and points, and became one of only two players to have won the Isobel Cup three times. While at Rivers, Dempsey was named a 2009 Globe All-Scholastic, and the Globe recently named her to the Throughout her professional career, Dempsey juggled practices and games with her other passion: teaching elementary school in her hometown. She took a leave of absence from teaching in 2024, to devote her time to the PWHL. Advertisement 'I had to decide to keep playing or teach at school,' Emma Healy can be reached at
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chicago Bulls bringing back historic pinstripe jerseys
How much of a statement their play will make next season is up for debate, but the Chicago Bulls' statement uniforms are winners. The Bulls are bringing back the pinstripes. This design is inspired by the jerseys worn by the team during the Jordan comeback championship era from 1995-97, as well as in 2007-08 and 2012-13. Chicago brought back Dennis Rodman to show off the vintage look jerseys. The team will wear the jersey on select Statement Edition game nights, which will be announced at a later date (after the NBA releases the upcoming league schedule in the next few weeks). I'll tune into those games just to see the jerseys back on the court.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The De'Aaron Fox extension: Is San Antonio's deal with the dynamic point guard as bonkers as it seems?
The San Antonio Spurs have given De'Aaron Fox a full max extension, totaling four years and $229 million, underlining their belief that the point guard will be able to return to All-NBA form, while functioning as the secondary star next to Victor Wembanyama. Let's talk about it. The glass half empty perspective Even through the biggest lens of optimism, this extension comes with risk. Fox isn't a natural long-range shooter whatsoever, and that's a not insignificant shortcoming in 2025, especially when the Spurs in particular need to optimize the spacing around Wembanyama. Furthermore, Fox at 30% of the cap could see his trade value decline in this new era of aprons, where every dollar is squeezed to its full potential, as to avoid being put in financial handcuffs. There's also the element of age. Fox is 27, a full six years older than Wembanyama, which means their long-term future as a duo could get, well, a bit messed up. In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo spent years being surrounded by older players, in form of Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez, who eventually aged out and became less effective, leaving the Bucks in a situation where they couldn't replace them, seeing as money were tied up on them, and their trade values diminishing by the year. Fox still has some years left before the Spurs have to worry about that, but it's worth remembering the Bucks example, just for future reference. The glass half full perspective While there should be some long-term concerns, from a roster flexibility perspective, with Fox's extension, it's crucial to remember that he's one of the most explosive and dynamic point guards in the NBA. He's a career 21.5-point scorer, an athletic blur, and his defensive capabilities were generally underplayed due to the fact that he played in Sacramento for almost eight years. Fox is also a real point guard, in the sense that he can set the table, run the show, defer when necessary, get certain players involved when they haven't seen the ball for five possessions in a row, and he's by all accounts an exceptional locker room presence who has historically been a tremendous communicator. Not only will those leadership abilities help the Spurs on the floor, but they will also provide recent lottery pick, Dylan Harper, with a world of insight into what it takes to be a natural floor leader. Finally, the presence of Fox does provide the Spurs with a high baseline of talent, as they can stagger him and Wembanyama, to make sure there's an All-Star caliber player on the floor at every possible moment. The broader perspective All in all, it's fair to not like this contract, just as it's fair to love it. Essentially, it comes down to how much you value financial flexibility, and whether you think Fox is a player worthy of such a commitment. There is a difference between superstars and fringe All-Stars, of which Fox belongs in the latter category with his just one nod, and most teams are keenly aware that paying top dollar for the non-superstar can prove problematic. It's also worth considering that the Spurs will also have to hand Wembanyama an extension after the conclusion of next season, one which triggers in 2027. So, perhaps then, there is a plan in place to utilize the $24 million spent on backup centers this offseason, not to mention Keldon Johnson's modest salary of $17.5 million, to make a play for something larger as the team nears the trade deadline. The Fox extension could also be viewed as insurance, should outside teams eventually be willing to fork over assets for him, and view the fact that he's on the books for so long as an asset in its own right. Regardless, fairly or unfairly, expectations now lie on Fox to live up to this deal, and to prove he is the guy to help the Spurs level up.