J-Speaks: The Return of A Top Lottery Pick to NBA

After missing out the playoffs the past two years, the New Orleans Pelicans behind a 25-13 finish to the 2017-18 NBA campaign earned the No. 6 Seed in the tough Western Conference. They made the most of their opportunity sweeping the No. 3 Seeded Portland Trail Blazers 4-0, earning just their second appearance in the Semifinals in their 16-year franchise history. While that nearly three-year gap between postseason appearances may seem like a long time, it pales in comparison to journey of one of Pelicans most recent acquisitions endured just to get a second chance in the league. 

Back on Feb. 3, the Pelicans signed forward/center Emeka Okafor to a 10-day contract. Two days later he made not only his debut with three points and two rebounds off the bench in nine minutes in the team’s 133-109 loss versus the Utah Jazz, but it was his first game in the league since 2013. 

The 35-year-old Okafor signed a second 10-day contract on Valentine’s Day and was signed for the remainder of the season 12 days later. 

His only appearance in the Pelicans opening round victory versus the Trail Blazers came in the team’s 119-102 win in Game 3 on Thursday night. He played four minutes where he did not score, missing his only shot attempt. 

His only other appearance in the playoffs came in 2011 with the then New Orleans Hornets, who lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 31.3 minutes in that series.  

The question is why would a player on the opposite end of age 30, with two kids, a finance degree, and money in the bank, a rare thing for a professional athlete in the twilight of his career roaming NBA hallways still? A true love for the game even after being out of the pro game for four years. 

“How a unique experience it is to be in the NBA,” Okafor said to NBATV’s Sekou Smith. “There’s only 450 slots in the world. In the entire world. It’s my duty to try to claim one of those spots. You just don’t give that up. You don’t give that up. You got to go back.”

Okafor had one of those coveted spots when the Houston, TX native was chosen with the No. 2 overall pick out of University of Connecticut in the 2004 NBA draft by the then Charlotte Bobcats. 

His averages of 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds in his first season with the team earned him the 2005 Rookie of the Year and a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team. This was on the heels of leading UConn to the NCAA title, while also being named the 2004 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Co-Player of the Year. 

After five seasons with the then Bobcats, Okafor was traded to the then New Orleans Hornets, where he played from 2009-10 to 2011-12. 

On June 20, 2012 Okafor was dealt to the Washington Wizards along with now Houston Rockets sharp shooting forward Trevor Ariza. 

Days before the start of the 2012-13 season, Okafor was dealt again on Oct. 25, 2013 to the Phoenix Suns along with a 2014 protected first-round draft pick in exchange for now Wizards center Marcin Gortat, Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee. 

In the preseason, he got injured and what was discovered that Okafor had a herniated disc in his neck. In injury that would later prove more problematic than he would ever imagine. 

“As soon as I did the injury I knew what I did,” Okafor said to Smith. “Now in terms of how bad the herniation was I had no idea. In terms of the road to recovery I did not know what that entailed.” 

“I knew it was significant. I knew that it would take time, I just didn’t know much beyond that until I got to the process.” 

That process of rehabilitation kept Okafor off the hardwood the entire 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. 

Emeka’s wife Ilana Nunn-Okafor, a former member of the NBA’s Public Relations team, and daughter of longtime NBA referee Ronnie Nunn understood “The Association” long enough to wonder if her husband would ever get an opportunity to make a comeback. 

“There were moments where I would say, ‘Hmm, I hope this can still happen? Are you still in?’ I just want to make sure we’re still on this path, because the clock is ticking,” she said. 

“Every once in a while, he would come back home and be like, ‘Yes, so I don’t think it’s going to be May. I think it’s going to be September,’ and I was like, ‘Uh. Oh God.’” 

Suddenly two years became four, but rather than be discouraged, the distance from Okafor and his former life only energized his efforts to return to NBA. 

He said that getting back into the NBA became a dream again. How awesome it would be to be back in the pros where he was one of the best big men at one time. 

Mrs. Okafor used the example of how some people who work out shadow box, her husband “shadow balls.” That he would be in the kitchen of there home, open the refrigerator, and would instantly post her up. 

“When I would see those moments, I would be hopeful without him realizing it. Because I was like, ‘He misses it, and loves it” she said. 

For the return to be complete, Okafor had to reassure an NBA team that he could still play. The Philadelphia 76ers invited him to their Training Camp in September 2017 but waived him on Oct. 14, 2017 after appearing in five preseason games. 

Undeterred, he joined their G-League affiliate the Delaware 87ers to pursue his comeback to the NBA and those 26 games he played caught the attention of the New Orleans Pelicans, who as mentioned earlier signed him to a couple of 10-day contracts, and then a signed him for the rest of the season. 

Okafor’s return to the floor after four seasons as somewhat of a dinosaur. How so? He is the last of what is considered of a dying breed. With just two career three-point attempts, Okafor is nowhere close to a guy who can take and make threes at a high clip. 

Unlike the start of his career, Okafor now has a wife and two young kids at home, three reminders of how his life is different, which he is very grateful for. 

“Throughout the whole process I’m like, “Oh man, thank goodness I have my wife and kids,’” he said. “I don’t know what that process would have been like without that. Without that just love, and structure, and family support.” 

“Being in professional sports, it can be very, very chaotic, nomadic, [and] unpredictable. So, to have that rock, just stability.” 

While suffering what was considered a career-ending injury, Okafor as his wife said to Smith got a chance to have amazing Facetime with his first born and was there for his wife when during the process of the couple bringing their second child into the world. 

Mrs. Okafor also said that this process has brought their family closer. That their children know their father is a professional basketball player. 

Her goal for now is to keep the kids’ life as normal as possible, like going to the local park to play on the swings. 

Beyond this year, there are no guarantees as Okafor is not signed beyond this year and at as mentioned 35-years-old there is no guarantee if he will play for any team beyond this year. He and Ilana say though they are up for whatever lies ahead. 

“Before the road is set,” Okafor said. “You can guess. I can see as clear as day like what’s ahead. Now, it’s like foggy. I can’t see like five feet in front of me. To be a professional athlete is a gift and it’s just an awesome, awesome experience.” 

Ilana called this moment of her husband’s basketball career one of his defining career moments. That making a comeback after a four-year absence, and that now it is here, they are going to live in the moment and worry about the future when the Pelicans postseason run ends. 

“This was the goal and were there, and so now we’re going to adapt to this, knowing that we’re all in,” she said. “The children as well as myself, and him for this process. Breathe a sigh of relief that we’re here now for this season and hopeful for what the future holds.” 

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/13/18 10:30 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “Beyond the Paint,” with Matt Winer, with report done by Sekou Smith; www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2399/emeka-okafor; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeka_Okafor.