The NBA has changed, and Jahlil Okafor is one unfortunate casualty

Over the past few seasons, the NBA has quickly evolved. There’s no better example of this than the Karl-Anthony Towns-Jahlil Okafor comparison

For the majority of the 2014-15 college basketball season, Jahlil Okafor was the frontrunner for the first pick in the 2015 NBA draft. The Chad Fords of the world and others had Okafor at the top of their big boards, but towards the end of the year Karl-Anthony Towns made a late push and eventually took over as the top prospect.

Towns was seen as the more versatile prospect on both ends of the floor, had a higher ceiling, was more athletic, and eventually was selected first overall. The switch from Okafor to Towns embodies the direction that the NBA has headed into today.

In today’s NBA, bigs must be able to stretch the floor, they need to be able to guard multiple positions, and they need to score in different ways. Plain and simple, they need to be versatile. The NBA is no longer a place for back-to-the-basket power forwards and centers like Jahlil Okafor (blame the Warriors if you want).

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Okafor has tremendous footwork in the paint, fantastic post moves, and knows how to score/operate around the basket. However, his outside shooting and defensive liabilities decrease his value in the current basketball world. Okafor did not attempt one 3-pointer in college, and has only attempted six in his two seasons with the Sixers. 72 percent of his field goal attempts were taken between the rim and 10 feet in the 2015-16 season, and 78 percent of his field goal attempts were taken between the rim and 10 feet in the 2016-2017 season.

Only 88 shots were attempted by Okafor between16 feet and the 3-point line in those two seasons. Granted, he was drafted into a crowded frontcourt, and he hasn’t played a full season yet, but the pattern is starting to develop here.

Only about 55 percent of Towns’ shot attempts were taken between the rim and 10 feet for 2015-16. To put things in some perspective, in the 2016-17 season, 78 percent of Towns’ shot attempts were taken within 20 feet of the basket, which is the same percentage as Okafor, except Okafor was within 10 feet.

Towns has already attempted 363 3-pointers in two seasons, and has shot 34.1 and 36.7 percent respectively in those two years. He only attempted eight (and made two) in his one season with the Wildcats. Towns has much more of an offensive range than Okafor, and he has adjusted his game (since his college days) in order to fit in with today’s NBA. Myles Turner, DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, and Brook Lopez are four other guys that fit this exact mold. And they all had career highs in 3-point attempts this past season.

Gasol and Lopez are especially intriguing. Gasol shot 66 3-pointers in his first eight seasons with the Grizzlies, and shot 268 this past year alone. Lopez shot 31 3-pointers in his first eight seasons, and 385 last year alone. And of course, we can’t forget Joel Embiid and his workout videos. He has completely transformed his game since his Kansas days. We did not see this new and improved Joel Embiid in Lawrence.

The NBA is evolving and the players that adjust to the current trends are more successful. In terms of power forwards, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, and Kristaps Porzingis are names that come to mind because they can stretch the floor out too. Additionally, teams want their bigs to do other things on the court as well.

Again, versatility. For example, Jokic and Gasol are also great passers. Myles Turner, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns are effective shot blockers, good athletes, and rim protectors. Davis especially, can guard multiple positions due to his mobility and quickness, and is a tremendous athlete.

Okafor is an example of a player who wouldn’t be able to play in an NBA Finals against the Warriors. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with the pace of the game, and on defense, he wouldn’t be able to get out and contest perimeter jump shots. Remember when Steve Kerr inserted Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup in place of Andrew Bogut a few years ago?

Versatile bigs on both ends of the floor are necessary in a league that is run by the Warriors now. Draymond Green creates match-up problems, which means that you need a versatile big to counteract him.

An interesting note to keep in mind is a player like Rudy Gobert, DeAndre Jordan, or Hassan Whiteside (I think Whiteside will eventually evolve into the Karl-Anthony Towns category). They have been able to master and specialize in a specific skill, which is rim protection. They are beasts on the boards, know their roles, and create havoc on the defensive end. They may be the exception.

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At the end of the day, the NBA is in a new era. You can’t help but wonder how players like Kareem, Shaq, Wilt, Hakeem, David Robinson, and Bill Russell would pan out in today’s game.

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