It took until two weeks after the news broke about Joel Embiid’s career-threatening foot surgery, but there it was on all three Philadelphia television stations when a beat reporter for a Philadelphia newspaper asked Jahlil Okafor if this would change his role with the Philadelphia 76ers.

His response was both immediate and classic: “No. My role is to dominate.”

Rarely has a rookie arrived on the Philadelphia sports scene with that level  of confidence and that had to be a refreshing change for a fanbase up in arms over the Philadelphia Eagles’ picking suspect — and perhaps future bust — Marcus Smith in the first round of the NFL Draft two years ago.

Indications are that Okafor has the skillset to back up his words as he looked good in both the Utah and Las Vegas summer leagues. In a July 14 matchup with fourth overall pick Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks, Okafor had the better stat line with 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting, compared to nine points for Porzingis. Okafor averaged 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in five summer league contests. Okafor, a 6-foot-11 center from Duke, adjusted smoothly to his first taste of the NBA game.

Meanwhile, he continued to show the deft post-scoring skills that made him the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. While Sixers fans had to be initially cool to the selection of Okafor, everything he has done nothing since being picked has changed a lot of minds while his comments have changed just as many hearts.

Mike Gibson is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.