The Indiana Pacers have had a colossal amount of turnover at the center position this summer. While the likes of Myles Turner and Jay Huff made the headlines, the positional makeover also meant moving on from a reclamation project from last season, Jahlil Okafor.
The 2015 Duke Blue Devils emerged from a titanic group of Final Four teams to win the NCAA Championship. That roster was the last college title team to be primarily led by freshman talent: Tyus Jones, Justice Winslow and Grayson Allen all played key roles. And their best player, the focal point of their offense, was a massive center named Jahlil Okafor.
Okafor went third overall to the Philadelphia 76ers even though they had drafted centers in the Top-6 the last two seasons, including someone named Joel Embiid. While his back-to-the-basket game was a throwback to a previous generation of NBA basketball, his size and skill convinced the 76ers to take a swing on him. A combination of a poor environment to develop in and his archaic game combined for him to fail to reach the heights of his draft pedigree.
He lasted six seasons in the NBA, fighting for roster spots and minutes on four different teams before finally being forced out. His journeyman lifestyle continued, but this time outside of the NBA. He played in China, in Mexico and in Spain over the next four seasons until the Indiana Pacers came calling.
Jahlil Okafor was an inspiring reclamation project
Okafor joined the Indiana Mad Ants halfway through last season, then signed a 10-day contract with the team in February to fill a roster spot and provide depth at the center position. However briefly, his NBA career had been extended.
Such a circuitous path back to the NBA is not unheard of, but it's certainly extremely rare. Most players get one real shot to stick in the league. Once NBA teams decide you are not an NBA player, your chances to making it back into an NBA game are slim-to-none. European superstars get one chance to crack the league; undrafted free agents either make it right away or have to wait years for their shot to audition once more.
That Okafor worked on his game and his body enough to get an NBA contract, however brief, is a great story. It was a short one, to be sure. The big man played just three minutes this season, grabbing a rebound and doing nothing else in the box score.
With the Pacers losing Myles Turner this summer it was a very real possibility they took a chance on bringing Okafor back. Instead, they decided to retain another top-drafted center who hasn't found his place in the league in James Wiseman. And that left Okafor without another shot to stick in the league.
Jahlil Okafor signed this summer with Levanga Hokkaido, a Japanese team, to continue his career. He made it just close enough to the NBA to touch his dream - just as the Pacers made it just close enough to an NBA title to touch theirs. Now the next steps must come for both.