The Nets stunned the NBA on Thursday as they acquired the former No. 3 pick of the 2015 NBA Draft in Jahlil Okafor in a trade with the 76ers.
The former Duke star is known as a proven low post scorer with some range, but how does he compare with the top five scoring centers in the league? The 21-year-old’s playing time has decreased after a promising rookie campaign, yet there are ways to see how he lines up, thanks to the career per 36 minutes stats.
The current top five scoring centers in the NBA are: New Orleans’ DeMarcus Cousins (25.9 ppg), Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (23 ppg), Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns (19.8 ppg), Memphis’ Marc Gasol (18.9) and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic (16.7).
Here are Okafor’s career per 36 minutes stats: 20 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 1.5 bpg on 51-percent shooting.
When looking at the aforementioned centers’ career per 36 minutes stats, Okafor is in the top four of centers in scoring. He’s ahead of both Gasol and Vucevic and is slightly below third-placed Towns (22.4 versus 20). Embiid tops all centers in per 36 with 28 points per game, while Cousins comes in at second at 24 ppg.
Okafor also ranks in top four in blocked shots, beating Cousins and Vucevic in that area.
If the third-year player can find a fit in Kenny Atkinson’s system, he might live up to the expectations of his draft selection and emerge as one of the top centers in the NBA.