A biography for Jahlil Okaforhasn’t been written yet.
“When I pictured myself in the NBA, I always imagined myself with an older guy taking me under his wing.”
“I never take a day off.”
“I've been working on all my aspects of my game.”
“Being an NBA player, a lot of stress comes with that: realizing there's a lot of pressure on me and accepting that for what it is, realizing that I might need help, I might need somebody to talk to, accepting that there's nothing wrong with that.”
“Coming out of college, I got a lot of notoriety for being the old-school center.”
“I've always been the tallest guy in my age group, which always made me go right down in the post.”
“I have videos of me playing basketball in diapers.”
“I've always gotten credit for being a big man who doesn't want to shoot threes. Throughout my entire basketball career prior to coming to the NBA, I was praised for doing that.”
“I've done this a couple times, been to a couple different camps and a couple different AAU practices to talk to kids. I tell them you have to be dedicated, have to decide if you want to be a serious basketball player or not. They always ask, 'What if you get discouraged?' You have to remember what your goal was in the first place.”
“That's one of things I've heard about Brooklyn - how good they are at developing players.”
“Playing games and watching film, I've been able to see the improvements I can make and how much better I can be. It's exciting to think about it.”
“He's been the greatest father for me. Going around the streets of Chicago with my dad, people always tell me they can't believe how much my dad has matured. Or, 'You wouldn't believe how your dad used to be.' There's always lots of words about how much he's changed.”
“I'd like to win Rookie of the Year.”
“I've always been a Kobe fan; he's one of my favorite players.”
“My dad is the opposite of me. He's so outgoing and so loud.”
“I can score from 18 to 20 feet out, handle the ball, pass. I don't consider myself an old-school center.”
“I think I can play power forward; I think I can play center as well.”
“Shaquille O'Neal was probably my favorite athlete growing up. I loved how dominant and unstoppable he was, but also his charisma off the court. He was someone I gravitated toward.”
“I wasn't always a willing passer.”