Former NBA 3rd Overall Pick Signs With Team In Spain

Jahlil Okafor, who was the third pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, has signed with a team in Spain.

Coming out of high school, Jahlil Okafor was seen as a potential star in the NBA.

ESPN ranked the talented center as the best high school player in the class of 2014, and he helped Duke win the 2015 NCAA Championship.  

Following his one season with the Blue Devils, Okafor was selected as the third pick in the NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. 

On Monday, Casademont Zaragoza (a team in Spain) officially announced that they had signed the 27-year-old (h/t Alberto De Roa of HoopsHype). 

𝐎 𝐊 𝐀 𝐅 𝐎 𝐑 𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐚

ℹ️ https://t.co/1sQGnOntqX pic.twitter.com/Z4lEpMl3lE

— Casademont Zaragoza (@CasademontZGZ) July 17, 2023

Okafor spent the first two and half seasons of his career with the 76ers before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017.  

In addition to the 76ers and Nets, he has also played for the New Orleans Pelicans and Detroit Pistons. 

His career averages are 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest while shooting 54.2% from the field in 247 regular season games (he has never appeared in an NBA playoff game).  

OFICIAL🚨Jahlil Okafor ficha por el Casademont Zaragoza

Me encantaba como jugaba este tipo, de inicio me gustaba más que Embiid. Qué movimientos, qué arte... pura poesíapic.twitter.com/kySTn8v577

— NBA - Jordi de Mas (@demas6Basket) July 17, 2023

This past year, Okafor played in the G League and averaged an impressive 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest while shooting 70.3% from the field in 16 regular season games (12 starts) for the Ciudad de Mexico Capitanes. 

He is still in the prime of his career, so it's possible he could have a big season for Zaragoza. 

While he will likely never be the All-Star that he had the potential to become, there is definitely a chance that Okafor could return to the NBA before his career is over.