Jahlil Okafor is a nice basketball player, arguably the best prospect in the upcoming NBA Draft. But his father, Chukwudi Okafor, feels the Duke center is much more.
"Jahlil is the best player to ever come out of Chicago,” he told TMZ Sports. “My son's absolutely the most decorated player ever from the city."
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Let’s pump the brakes a bit there, dad. Have you forgotten about NBA champions Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett (who played a year of high school basketball in the city) and Isiah Thomas, or Pelicans star Anthony Davis? Or how about the biggest basketball fixture in Chicago since Michael Jordan — Derrick Rose?
Sure, Jahlil Okafor at 19 is a consensus first-team All-American and has three FIBA gold medals and an NCAA title to his credit. However, the professional accomplishments of Rose, Garnett, Wade and Thomas are staggering. Between them, the four players have 51 All-Star Game selections, 10 All-NBA first team selections, six NBA championships and one NBA MVP award (Rose).
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As for Jahlil Okafor, whose father said should “go down as a legend at Duke,” it may be best to see what he can do in the pros before he’s anointed the best ever from a basketball-rich city.