Parker defends friend Okafor, thinks recent issues related to losing
Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor grew up together in Chicago, and had their one-and-done stints at Duke a year apart. Now an NBA sophomore, Parker offered his opinion on some of the off-court controversies his friend has found himself in the middle of recently.
"He's fine," the Milwaukee Bucks forward told the Sporting News' Adi Joseph Sunday. "Everyone knows that he's a good kid. Sometimes we look at athletes as superheroes. We've got to be perfect all the time. But, you know, any ordinary Joe has a worse record than him ... I'm not saying that those mistakes are to be covered up, but he's not the kid that was shown in those actions."
The mistakes Parker referred to include two late-night confrontations - one in Boston, which Okafor admitted was "dumb," and another reported incident in Philadelphia in which the 76ers' No. 3 pick in June's NBA draft allegedly had a gun pointed at him - as well as a speeding violation. Another report surfaced Monday claiming the 19-year-old used a fake ID in a bar.
It's important to remember that Okafor hasn't been charged with any crime. Nightlife and traffic misconduct aren't terribly uncommon for young men his age, either, although the string of incidents could certainly bring his judgment into question. Parker believes inexperience has something to do with his friend's recent issues, but also suggested the Sixers' current culture of losing could be a cause.
"Most of it is just winning," said the 20-year-old Parker, who is nine months older than Okafor. "When you're losing, you think real negatively, and sometimes it may carry over. It's the pressure. Winning takes care of it, and also experience helps, too."
Parker also conceded that it can be difficult to keep one's cool when fans cross the line in public.
"You can't go places with a lot of people around you," Parker said. "Fans do get ignorant, and they don't get held to accountability. A lot of them get slick, and they do say some threatening things. So my advice to him is to stay within your team."
Okafor's 76ers are 0-18 and on the verge of breaking the NBA record for most losses to start a season. He owned up to some of his behavior on Twitter on Sunday.
"I'm not proud of some of my decisions over the last few months," he said.