Jahlil Okafor has been dreaming of playing NBA basketball for almost his entire life, and he got a little taste of it during Summer League in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. It must’ve been nice to prove himself against other decent prospects, but he was mostly playing talent that won’t last. Critics tore apart the center’s game before the draft this summer; however, the former Duke Blue Devil has appreciated all support the Philadelphia 76ers have showed to him so far.

“[Sam Hinkie] told me he couldn’t believe I was still on the board,” Okafor said to Sports Illustrated. “That kind of assured me. That made me feel better.”

The big man averaged 18.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in Las Vegas, and it wouldn’t shock many to see him average a double-double next season on this team that desperately needs his production. One anonymous NBA coach told SI that it would be “easy” for Okafor to average over 15 PPG next year.

One thing is certain: Philadelphia is a perfect team for the former Duke big man to put up huge numbers. He will be a Rookie of the Year front-runner for most of this coming season as a result, and the only real competition he will have is Karl-Anthony Towns catching alley-oops from Ricky Rubio. The problem for Towns will be splitting touches with Andrew Wiggins, and Okafor won’t face that issue due to the lack of talent in Philly.

The house money is on Jahlil to take home the hardware, but maybe we will watch some unheralded player grab the spotlight out of thin air. The likelier outcome is that Okafor will finally see his dreams come true.

Dave Daniels is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.