Jahlil Okafor’s recent problems have been widely publicized. From one fight to a situation where he had a gun pulled on him, to driving way over the speed limit, to another fight, Okafor has had a terrible past few months which is just now coming to light. Some of that stems from being a 19 year old who has suddenly come across a lot of money and fame. According to Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach, Brett Brown, however, some of it comes Okafor being on a losing team that just won its first game of the season on Monday.
Brett Brown appeared on the Dan Patrick Show and spoke about the team’s first win and, more importantly, Okafor’s recent struggles off the court. When asked about whether the state of the team has had any impact on the young star, Brown had this to say:
I think we’d all be naive to think that [losing] doesn’t have some level of effect. He has been used to winning. He is one of the major faces of the program. He is a prideful young man. So, you add it all up and, not to make excuses, but I think […] a portion of it has impacted his mindset.
This is a very interesting quote from Brown. Okafor’s problems are clearly much larger than those of the team. However, compared to other players in his profession, he is in a less-than-ideal situation on a team actively pursuing high draft picks rather than wins. Whether that is a viable excuse for even a portion of Okafor’s recent decisions is a different question, but clearly the coach of the team thinks it at least has had some impact. It will be interesting to see how Sixers management moves forward both in helping Jahlil with his problems and in creating an atmosphere that is more beneficial and fruitful for its young players.
