A biography for Jahlil Okaforhasn’t been written yet.
“That's always been my interest - things of the unknown.”
“I never had to worry about putting a target on somebody else's back. Usually, the target was on my back.”
“Chicago is home for me.”
“I just think that playing in a championship game and playing in every game in March Madness, that's just more time for critics to watch you and more time for them to nitpick at what you don't do well or what they feel you don't do well.”
“There are guys like Chance the Rapper; I'm a big fan of his.”
“My father has his master's degree. My uncle does as well.”
“I have a lot of eyes on me because of basketball, a lot of young people looking up to me. It's made me grow up faster.”
“Basketball was my thing I was always able to use to forget everything.”
“I get that every game. High school. At Duke. When I do the introductions, I get a little butterflies. Once I step on the floor, I'm fine.”
“I've talked to a bunch of big men who told me they didn't really start playing basketball until seventh or eighth grade. That wasn't the situation with me.”
“I set really high expectations.”
“I do three different workouts a day. In total, it's about six or seven hours.”
“I love LeBron, but Kobe was the first player I actually considered my favorite.”
“My main focus, my pride is right there on the block. That's where I've always played and my focus has always been.”
“I'm definitely used to being the centerpiece of a team.”
“Being from Chicago, an inner-city kid, I'm fortunate enough now to be able to help the kids here when I come back, when I'm in town.”
“When I found out that I'd been traded to Brooklyn - it was pretty much the best feeling in the world.”
“I think from losing my mother, I appreciate having good people around me.”
“I always knew I wanted to be in the NBA and play myself in a video game. That was my goal when I was a kid.”
“Rankings, for most players, are like adversity because we all want to be the best. So you've just got to approach it like you would a tough situation on the court. You just have to respond.”