On Thursday, the Sixers selected Duke big man Jahlil Okafor with the third-overall pick in the NBA Draft. For Philadelphia, it marked the third straight year in which the team used its top pick on a frontcourt player, and it also marked the third straight year in which the team selected a player who at one point was anticipated to be the first player picked in their respective draft.

On Monday morning, Sixers head coach Brett Brown spoke with Malik Rose and Jared Greenberg of SiriusXM NBA Radio about the talented young big man, among other topics.

“To think that in three drafts you got Nerlens [Noel], and Joel [Embiid], and Jah (Jahlil Okafor), it’s quite an amazing accomplishment when you look at the quality of those bigs,” he said. “We always went into [the draft] saying, ‘Whoever the best player is, that’s who you want.’ You really can’t get tricked on trying to draft for position, I feel. And if Nerlens hadn’t gotten injured, they say [he goes] #1, if Joel hadn’t gotten injured, they say #1, and Jahlil, all year, was #1, so the [outlook] of the 2015-16 season is quite positive.”

Throughout a freshman season at Duke in which Okafor averaged 17.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 66.4% from the field, the 6’11” big man was compared to Spurs legend Tim Duncan because of his polished post game and excellent touch around the rim.

Like Okafor, who currently weighs in the neighborhood of 270 pounds, Duncan entered the league with a mature body that belied his age. But while he was already 21 when he was selected by San Antonio with the first-overall pick in the 1997 Draft, Okafor just turned 19 in December.

Brown sees a world of potential in Okafor, and thinks he’ll benefit greatly from the Sixers’ commitment to sports science and nutrition.

“When I first got [to San Antonio], [Tim Duncan] was 276 pounds,” Brown remembers. “There was a phase where, probably in 2005-06, when he went overboard with his diet and really started paying attention to his body. And now you take it out, and he’s still playing at the level he’s playing and running the floor at 39.

“I get excited [about working with Okafor]. I come in the gym this morning at 6:30, and I see Jahlil in the gym sweating. And you come up to your office, and you have a new bounce to your step.”

In one week, the Sixers will step on the floor for their first Summer League game, coincidentally against the San Antonio Spurs at 7pm (EST) in Salt Lake City Utah. Sixers.com will be there to cover that game and the entirety of the Salt Lake City Summer League and the Las Vegas Summer League.

*Thank you to SiriusXM NBA Radio for audio of the interview.