Jahlil Okafor has had a rough couple of months between October and November as he has found himself in situations that aren't good for him personally or the Philadelphia 76ers. After three separate incidents in a two month span Okafor knows that something needs to change so that he doesn't have to deal with these off the court distractions so he will reportedly be accompanied by a bodyguard from now on when he goes out, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.
Okafor was the 76ers first round pick (third overall) in the most recent NBA Draft and is a player they consider to be the future of their franchise but in order for him to be that he not only has to play well on the court but he has to be a model citizen off the court. Okafor has been anything but that recently as he has been in the news for a brawl on Thanksgiving Eve, speeding over a bridge and getting into an argument that ended up with a gun being pointed at him.
Okafor has been extremely apologetic on Twitter since these reports have come out saying "I own my choices both personally and now publicly. At this point I am cooperating and respecting the process I have to go through. Going forward I don't want to be a distraction for my team and am grateful for the support and guidance those close to me are giving. I am 100% focused on my responsibility to the League, my teammates and fans," in a series of tweets.
The request for the bodyguard reportedly came from Okafor's camp and it is expected that the 76ers will oblige the request. This is something that teams do from time to time and now Okafor will have someone at his disposal whenever he would like. People close to Okafor have reportedly been preaching tough love with him saying they are "all over him" and that they are "telling him he has to learn these things."
Although the 76ers have yet to win a game Okafor has been their lone bright spot and best player through 18 games. Okafor leads all rookies with 17.5 points per game and has added 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game as well in what has been a nice rookie campaign on the court so far for the former Duke Blue Devil.
UPDATE: Okafor claims that he did not request the security detail as was previously reported, according to TMZ Sports. The report states that there has been discussions about potentially having security but nothing is official yet.
