Heading into tonight's Sixers and Lakers matchup, all cameras are on Kobe Bryant, who returns to Philadelphia, his hometown, for the last time in a Lakers uniform. Prior to the game, Comcast Sportsnet's daily Breakfast on Broad telecast featured an appearance by former Sixer and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley, who has been arrested on more that one occasion for punching a fan. Enter 19-year-old rookie center Jahlil Okafor. The Sixers big man has been the subject of some very concerning reports as of late, including punching a fan outside a Boston night club last week. Here's what Sir Charles had to say about Okafor's actions that occurred after the Sixers matchup with the Celtics:
"I like Okafor. He's a young kid who has made some mistakes lately. He has to be really careful because he's going to be a target from now on. Once you get in trouble and people think they can get to you, they're going to say things to you. First of all, some fans deserve to be punched in the head. Some of these fans are scumbags. They're really not nice people. We have made them important because of social media. I do no social media at all because social media is where every loser goes to feel important and to have a voice. You have a voice but it's not an important voice so keep it to yourself. We made people on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, we made every loser in the world feel like they're important now. They're not important. You're life sucks now because of you. Just because you can take shots at celebrities, it doesn't make you important, it makes you a punk."
"There are some fans that deserved to be punched but you can't punch them. I got arrested probably four or five times for punching fans. They deserved it every time."
"The number one thing, he's got to just shut up now and just play." [The 700 Level]
There's no doubting that Okafor has the skills to succeed on the court, but currently lacks the maturity of an NBA player. That being said, Barkley put those arrests aside to have himself a pretty successful NBA career. You can listen to his entire interview with the Breakfast on Broad crew here:
Okafor has high expectations for himself and the Sixers have set high standards for him, but the team lacks any veteran presence for the Duke alum to be mentored by at this point. Okafor and the rest of the Sixers tip-off at 7PM tonight against the Lakers at Wells Fargo Center.
Brandon Apter, contributor to Sixerdelphia.com
