New Orleans Pelicans Center Jahlil Okafor Eager To Be Mentored By Anthony Davis

New Orleans Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor looks up to Anthony Davis as a mentor and is eager to be taught as he tries to get his NBA career back on track.

It’s true what they say, the sequel isn’t always as good as the original. Jahlil Okafor seemed to be on a similar path to start his career as Anthony Davis.

Both spent parts of their childhood raised in Chicago. Both led their teams to a national championship as a freshman in college. Both were high lottery choices as big men. But something happened along the way.

Despite averaging a promising 17 points and 7 rebounds a game as a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers, and earning First Team All-Rookie honors, Okafor was marred with constant off the court issues, like his controversial run in with fans in Boston one night.

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Couple that with injuries to his right knee during his rookie season that shut him down for multiple games, and re-injuring the same knee the following season, Okafor now sees himself on his third team since 2015.

Okafor remains confident, however. During this offseason, he posted multiple videos on his Instagram page of his weight loss progress as well as workouts that showcase the talent that warranted him being the No. 3 overall pick back in 2015.

Okafor recently sat down on CJ McCollum’s podcast and had this to say about playing with AD:

"“I’m really excited to be a part of the New Orleans Pelicans organization, and I was actually — before I came out here to be at this D-Wade Invitational, I was in New Orleans this past week. There were several guys there; AD was one of the guys there. You know, he’s a Chicago guy so he’s somebody that I’ve always been able to watch and monitor because when I was a freshman, he was the No. 1 high school player in the country as a senior. I was able to do the same thing. Then he went to Kentucky, won a national championship; then I went to Duke and copied him — did the same thing and won a national championship.”“He’s always been like a mark for me to look at. He’s not too much older than me, but a role model in the sense of just the success he’s had and he’s always done everything the right way. So, I’m excited to be able to team up with him and be with him on a day-to-day basis.”"

Okafor says he has been hard at work on his defense and outside shooting. These are two areas Davis excels at, so the day-to-day mentoring that AD can provide will prove invaluable to Okafor.

Watching AD’s professionalism on and off the court will be the steady example Okafor needs to work his way back into the NBA spotlight. The rest will be up to Okafor to soak up this knowledge and apply it each and every day.

This will indeed be an uphill battle as the Pelicans have a crowded frontcourt to say the least. Where Okafor fits in with the group that Included AD, Mirotic, newly acquired forward Julius Randle, Cheick Diallo and Emeka Okafor remain to be seen. Jahlil’s willingness to adapt to Alvin Gentry’s frantic pace of offense will be the key as to whether Jahlil can crack into the regular rotation or not.

There is value in this signing. He possesses something the Pelicans have lacked recently in their second unit. A guy who can come in, be giving the ball, told to go get a few baskets, and be able to produce is something the Pelicans have longed for off the bench. This, along with the fact he can spare AD the physicality from banging with other big men in the league for 48 minutes a game, will have AD fresher in the 4th quarter to finish games.

Only time will tell what becomes of Okafor and his Pelicans tenure. But who knows, maybe the sequel will this time be almost as good as the original.