Emeka Okafor

Ask any professional basketball player, they’ll tell you the NBA is — and always will be — the main goal. No one wants to play in the Developmental League, or Turkey, or any other random country; they’re all just stepping stones toward a potential return to the big time.

Unfortunately, there’s only so many spots up there. Fringe players are forced to toil around, hoping to remain relevant until they eventually get their chance (or second chance).

In this year’s NBA Preseason, there‘s two great examples of guys finally getting another shot — Andy Rautins and Damien Wilkens. Then, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there is a former №2 draft pick giving himself another shot — Emeka Okafor.

Andy Rautins:

Rautins, a second-round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, is the son of Canadian-hoops legend Leo Rautins and is getting his shot with the Toronto Raptors. It’s been a long-road back for the 6-foot-4 sharpshooter, a journey that’s included only five NBA games and eight total points. However, with the league becoming more three-point centric, Rautins’ skill-set has become something that NBA teams crave.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Raptors’ head coach Dwayne Casey agreed.

“The thing that Andy can do is he is a stone-cold shooter and that’s something where the game is going to..”

He’s not kidding, and Rautins proved that he’s lethal from NBA-distance in his only season in the D-League (now G-League). Back in the 2012–13, as a member of the Tulsa 66ers, the former-Syracuse great led the league in three-point percentage (43.7 percent) and also won the D-League Three-Point Shootout. It was his only season in the Developmental League, electing for bigger paydays overseas.

Andy Rautins

Rautins was signed by Toronto after a few impressive workouts and has played in both of their preseason games thus far.

Last week, he spoke with the Toronto Star about his long-shot opportunity up north.

“I had a couple offers in Turkey and Spain on the table, but this has been a lifelong dream of mine, so I’d be a fool not to pursue it.”

Odds are that Rautins won’t make the big club by opening night. Instead, you can expect him to play with Toronto’s G-League team and hope for a call-up.

If he does in fact appear in an NBA game this year, it will be one of the biggest gaps between appearances I can remember —from 2011 to 2017. One famous example of this was when Bob Cousy appeared in seven games during the 1969–70 season after being retired for six seasons.

Damien Wilkins:

Like Rautins, Damien Wilkins also comes from an NBA family. He is the son of Gerald Wilkins, a 13-year NBA veteran, and the nephew of NBA Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins. However, unlike Rautins, Damien once had a legit NBA career before flaming out after nine seasons.

From 2004–2013, Wilkins played in over 500 games and notched more than 3,500 points. His most-noteworthy moment came in his rookie season as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics, a 15-point, 5-steal performance in Seattle’s Game 4 win over the Spurs in the 2005 Western Conference Semi-Finals.

Nate McMillan, the head coach of the 2004–05 Sonics, is now in his second season as the Indiana Pacers’ leading man. Obviously, McMillan still feels comfortable with Damien Wilkins, proving so with a surprise contract offer this past July. On August 15th, 2017, Wilkins officially signed with the Pacers — four years after his last NBA appearance.

Don’t be fooled by his long absence, though. He was actually in the starting lineup during his last NBA game, playing 35-plus minutes and scoring 15 points as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. Since that game, Wilkins has been getting buckets all over the world. In 2014–15, he averaged 20.2 points per game in the D-League, followed by a five-game stint as the featured scorer for Team USA in the 2015 Pan-American Games.

All together, Wilkins has played with four international teams, six NBA teams, and two D-League teams.

Now 37 years old, the former-Georgia product looked extremely competent in the Pacers’ only preseason game so far. He scored 12 points off the bench, sinking two three-point field goals and adding a handful of rebounds.

It remains unclear if Wilkins will actually make the Pacers’ regular-season roster, or if he was simply brought in as a veteran leader. Ironically, he found himself in a similar situation before the 2015–16 season, signing a contract with the Charlotte Hornets. Unfortunately, the opportunity was short-lived, lasting only three preseason games before being waived.

Emeka Okafor:

Easily the most recognizable of the players being featured, Emeka Okafor is officially wearing an NBA uniform again. Okafor, a former №2 overall draft pick, signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason after four seasons away from the game.

Different from Rautins and Wilkins, Emeka Okafor hasn’t played any organized basketball since his final NBA season in 2012–13. In addition, it’s not as if NBA teams didn’t want him, like in Rautins and Wilkins case, he simply wasn’t feeling completely healed from a herniated disc suffered in 2013.

Back in 2015, Marc Stein of ESPN wrote that Okafor was ‘healthy’ but didn’t want to rush back to the court. Stein reported that numerous NBA teams were showing interest.

Finally, in early-2017, the UConn legend decided it was time to hit the comeback trail and was medically cleared to play by May. After working out with several teams, the 2004–05 NBA Rookie of the Year decided to sign with the revamped 76ers — pairing himself with the league’s other Okafor, Jahlil.

When asked by The Philadelphia Inquirer what factors were vital to his return, the 6-foot-10 center was steadfast in his answer.

“Making sure I was healthy and strong and ready to come back and play the way I wanted to play,” he said. “The hardest part has been perception.”

With the way professional basketball is headed, it’s hard to imagine the 76ers carrying both Okafor’s on their roster. Joel Embid is locked in as the starting center, leaving these two to fight over the bench role. The only problem is that neither Emeka or Jahlil can shoot from the outside, although Jahlil did attempt a three-ball in the team’s only preseason game — he missed. In addition, neither can guard anyone if the opposing team goes small or uses a stretch-five.

Luckily for Jahlil, he’s much younger and has proved in a short amount of time that he can score from the post. However, his effort is a constant issue and the Duke-product doesn’t bring nearly as much value on defense as Emeka does — or did. It remains to be seen how much the elder-Okafor has left in the tank, and with the additions of Kris Humphries and J.J Redick, it’s likely that they don’t necessarily need him as a veteran presence.

Overall, this is going to be an interesting scenario to look out for. Jahlil has the edge at this point, thanks to his upside and an efficient 13-point performance in Philadelphia’s only preseason game. Emeka, in the same game, scored two points in 10 minutes but did grab one of the team’s three offensive boards.

With all that said, it would be nice to live in a world where two Okafor’s play on the same team.