We should all be excited that Jahlil Okafor got a new career high in points tonight with 31. An incredible offensive display by one of the league’s premiere young talents, showing that all the vet-savvy in the world can’t save you if you can’t move your feet. Yes, I’m talking about you, ZaZa. I’m calling you out.
But amidst all the excitement is a milestone of a different kind, one that I fear may go unrecognized: in the same game where Jahlil had a career high in points, he tied a career low in “number of civilians punched”, with zero.
That’s right. Out of all the punchable fans in the stands, punchable media people on the sidelines, punchable concession workers in the arena, and punchable parking-lot personnel, Jahlil restrained himself from punching even a SINGLE ONE of them. There were a few tense moments, like when he took a wild swing at a cameraman but missed wide-right or when he stormed into the Sixers Pro Shop after the third quarter ended and punched a mannequin thinking it was an employee, but the stats bear it out: he successfully avoided face/fist collisions with non-NBA human beings for the entire duration of tonight’s game.
Congrats, Jahlil! Those civilians deserved it, but you kept your cool!