It is very easy for us to forget. We watched Jahlil Okafor get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft and come right to the Sixers to be their starting center. But just 18 months ago, Okafor was attending Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. Okafor is still a teenager. And sometimes, teenagers need tough love…and supervision.
Chris Broussard of ESPN reports that Okafor will have a security guard watching him:
After being involved recently in a few embarrassing and potentially dangerous off-the-court incidents, Philadelphia 76ers star rookie Jahlil Okafor will now be accompanied by a security guard whenever he goes out, according to league sources.
The request for security came from Okafor's handlers, who asked the 76ers to make a security guard available to their first-round draft pick out of Duke. The Sixers did not return a phone call seeking comment, but two sources said the club will honor the request.
In recent days, the public has learned that Okafor:
- Got involved in a fight outside a night club in Boston
- Had a gun pulled on him in Old City Philadelphia
- Was stopped for driving 108 miles per hour
- Tried to use a fake ID at Philadelphia's Misconduct Tavern
That's enough for the Sixers to get involved.
Most 19 year-olds do not suddenly have millions of dollars and the spotlight like Okafor. That is why, as Broussard points out in his report, the Sixers are looking to support him, not lash out at him. At the very least, the Sixers invested a year of tanking and almost $8 million on Okafor. That is worth protecting.
