National Basketball Association

Jahlil Okafor Says Him and Ben Simmons Are Getting Along

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor said that he and first overall pick Ben Simmons are getting along quite well leading up to training camp.

Jahlil Okafor was the marquee Philadelphia 76ers draft pick last season. At this point last season, Sixers fans had found out that Joel Embiid was going to miss yet another full season due to injury, so the hype all had to be directed towards Jahlil Okafor.

More from The Sixer Sense

Okafor had a strong season, demonstrating solid offensive capabilities, and improvements on the defensive end, as well as from the free-throw line.

This season, however, the hype shifts to other players. Dario Saric, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons are all big name rookies that fans are looking forward to watching, but Simmons has to be the most hyped (although the waiting for Embiid and Saric leads them to be pretty hyped as well). Simmons was the top overall pick in this year’s draft, and was the first top overall pick for the Sixers since Allen Iverson exactly 20 years ago in 1996.

Simmons is the future. He’s a unique player with a solid ability to get to the rim and score, and can also pass the ball like a guard. The team will be building around him, and there’s reason to believe they might consider players more heavily if they get along well with Simmons.

Jahlil Okafor did an open question and answer session on his Twitter on Wednesday, and he was asked how well him and Simmons are getting along. His response?

Like peanut butter and jelly https://t.co/JevWWUdFWf

— Jahlil Okafor (@JahlilOkafor) September 21, 2016

Okay, it’s not bread and butter, but we’ll take it, right? Certainly, it wasn’t expected that they wouldn’t get along, but there’s always that fear with young players who both want to be leaders that there will be chemistry issues.

One might be led to believe that the Sixers will keep the player that gets along best with Simmons on and off the court between Noel and Okafor. So far, it looks like Okafor is leading, but we’ll have to wait until the regular season comes around and they all play together to make any official determination.

This article originally appeared on