2015 NBA Draft: Is Jahlil Okafor too Traditional for the Modern NBA?

Duke big man turned 2015 NBA Draft prospect Jahlil Okafor has what is considered an old school style post game.

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He is a traditional big man that plays with his back to the basket, can play in either block on the post, and can finish with either hand around the basket.

Back in the day, his type of style in the post would have been ideal. The game was played inside/out, meaning he would have been the focal point of the offense down in the low block while shooters looked to get open on the outside because he was such an inside scoring threat.

Okafor would have received touches in the block virtually on every trip down court with the sole purpose of getting his own buckets or inducing double teams so that he could find the open man on the perimeter.

In the modern NBA, big men are virtually not used like that any more. Big men need to be able to knockdown a 15-foot jumper or even a three-point bucket while being able to occasionally post up.

It is more about being able to set a screen and finish above the rim for big men nowadays than to be able to get the ball on the block and actually make a post move.

This is where you have to look at Jahlil Okafor’s game and wonder if his game really fits the modern NBA. Does this league still have use for a player that has to use footwork, positioning, strength and an arsenal of post moves in order to get a bucket.

This is going to be the ultimate basketball experiment. Trying to reintroduce a relic into modern times.

Jahlil Okafor is not going to knockdown consistent baseline jumpers right away. That is a part of his game that will need to be improved upon over time.

He is not really a player that is going to kill you with ridiculous above the rim ability since he is not an explosive leaper.

His game is power, footwork and position, something that the NBA purest of the world will love.

However, it might be something that modern offenses have a hard time ingratiating in to the scheme.

Okafor is going to be on the block which is going to make spacing and player movement a tad bit difficult because schematically you have someone that is not pulling a post defender away from the basket.

There is going to be very little room for free flow of player movement with the paint clogged up.

This is not to say that there is not a use for a player like Okafor in the modern game at all.

It is just going to take a coach with offensive imagination to figure out how to ingratiate an old school game to new school offensive principles.

That is what will make the selection of Jahlil Okafor the most intriguing, and will make watching how he is utilized in the NBA must see TV.

This You Tube Video by Tommy Dee actually did a good job of comparing Jahlil Okafor’s footwork to Hakeem Olajuwon’s.

Now to be honest he is similar to Tim Duncan because of how fundamentally sound he is in the block. Besides, “The Dream Shake” was simply brilliant!

Bringing Okafor in is a good thing for basketball because people are going to see a throwback to traditional post play.

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