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Jahlil Okafor Got Lost and Wound Up on a Defensive Possession Last Night

Sixers big man Jahlil Okafor wanted absolutely nothing to do with playing defense.

As the NBA trade deadline approached, Philadelphia fans wondered what they might get for Jahlil Okafor, one of the Sixers' 83 centers. Philly did not trade the former Dukie, but they did get something: the challenge of playing defense four-on-five. Like swinging a bat with a donut on it, or running with a parachute attached to you, this will only make the Sixers stronger whenever they do, in fact, get a fifth guy out there on defense.

Oh shit, he was out there, huh? Well, to be fair to Okafor, it was pretty late in the first quarter, he was probably gassed. Still, it maybe would have been nice to have seen him at least get a hand in Goran Dragić's face. That wouldn't even have been that hard, as Okafor has like eight inches on Dragic, and also sports enormous hands. And yet:

The entire clip is remarkable, but this is my favorite part. Sure, Okafor ambles around aimlessly for an entire rebounding sequence and subsequent second-chance shot, but just look at this one moment frozen in time. Stick your face against the screen, breath in the pixels, and behold the Jahlil Okafor Experience: he is a forearm's length away from Dragić, and he straight-up watches the Miami guard shoot over him. Do you know how hard that actually is for men of their respective sizes? Did you ever play driveway basketball with your dad or uncle, when they were full-grown adults and you were, like, six? Okafor could have blocked this shot by accident, yet at no point do his arms even advance past his waist. Amazing.

The Heat beat the Sixers 125-98.