NEW YORK — In the previous two NBA drafts, the Sixers had three lottery picks that were at least a year away from taking the court.
Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid sat an entire season while recovering from surgery. Dario Saric is fulfilling a contract commitment in Turkey.
The team added another frontcourt player with the No. 3 overall pick Thursday night, but Jahlil Okafor is ready to play and win.
"I would like to be Rookie of the Year," Okafor said when asked what his goals are for next season. "Making the All-Star game, helping the Philadelphia 76ers make the playoffs, and be a starter for a couple years — those are goals of mine."
The 6-foot-11, 270-pound center out of Duke was expected to be the first or second selection, but he has no problem going at No. 3. He also has no problem stepping into an organization that has had an ever-changing roster the past two seasons.
"I have no pause or hesitation," Okafor said. "There is nothing I [can] do. They selected me and I can't wait to get down there."
Okafor is expected in town this weekend. He did not work out for the Sixers pre-draft, and his agent had the only conversations held between his "camp" and the team prior to hearing Okafor's name called Thursday.
When Okafor does join his new teammates, he will be reuniting with an old friend.
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"I met [Joel Embiid] at my visit to Kansas my junior year," Okafor said. "My senior year, he was a freshman there, so we talked a lot and we were texting back and forth. We just got really close."
Embiid sent Okafor a text message Thursday night expressing excitement about becoming possible teammates.
"I wasn't sure," Okafor said when asked if Embiid was tipping him off to where he would go in the draft. "I got so many texts last night and he was one of them. But I wasn't sure. I knew it was a possibility, but I didn't know where I was going to end up."
Like many of us, Okafor follows the entertaining Embiid on Twitter and Instagram. Maybe because he has had a previous relationship with Embiid, Okafor has no concerns about whether the two can figure out how to share the low post along with Nerlens Noel.
"It is going to be two 7-footers on the floor playing basketball," Okafor said. "I don't know what else to say. We both want to win. We are friends and I am looking forward to it. I am also cool with Nerlens."
If you are curious what that style of play will look like, Okafor said, "Hopefully dominate and hopefully winners. That is what I like to be a part of."
Family and friends joined Okafor at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for his special night. That group included his high school coach.
"He was with me for four years before I got to Duke University and was with me for eighth-grade AAU season," Okafor said.
He was referring to Tyrone Slaughter, who coached him at Whitney High School in Chicago.
"He helped me on and off the court and was like a father figure to me," Okafor said. "He had to be here."
And now the player with a national title in one year at Duke needs to be here in Philadelphia, to help a struggling organization turn a corner towards something positive.
"I have always won," Okafor said repeatedly. "I love winning — that is what I am all about. I am excited to go to Philadelphia, help them rebuild and turn the program around and try to win."
Together they build, and one day, together they may win.