By now everyone knows that the Philadelphia 76ers are one of the worst teams of all time as they have started 0-17 and are on the verge of breaking the record for the worst start in NBA history. The lone bright spot on the Sixers this year has been Jahlil Okafor, at least on the court. Off the court Okafor has had a nightmarish week as there have been reports of several off the court incidents involving the 19 year old big man.
On Thanksgiving Eve TMZ Sports released a video of Okafor being involved in a physical altercation outside of a nightclub in the Boston area. The brawl reportedly happened because Okafor was being heckled by some people who were saying things such as "the 76ers suck" and Okafor claims that he felt threatened and punched one of the hecklers in the face to protect himself and his unnamed teammate. Okafor has not been charged for this brawl but an investigation is taking place to determine if charges will be placed.
This reportedly wasn't Okafor's first incident recently though, as John Gonzalez of CSN Philly reports that Okafor had a gun pulled on him in an October altercation. In this instance Okafor and an associate were reportedly outside a nightclub in Old City where they were seen arguing with two people in a car. Eventually the argument escalated to the point where a witness said one of the passengers pointed a gun at both Okafor and his associate. Okafor was not able to comment on this report as the investigation is ongoing.
On Sunday morning a new report came out that Okafor was stopped by police in early November for driving 108 MPH over the Ben Franklin Bridge, according to Ananth Pandian of CBS Sports. Anything over 40 MPH is considered reckless on that bridge so Okafor was way beyond that point and that makes it three run-ins with the law in a span of two months, not something the 76ers want from the face of their franchise.
Okafor has been very good for the Sixers on the court so far this season but based on these reports his behavior off the court is a major concern. Before the season started there weren't really off the court concerns with Okafor but now after these three incidents there clearly are. Okafor will likely be facing some sort of suspension from the NBA soon for the video TMZ released earlier this week.
