Okafor rips Sixers: I'm working with an 'actual NBA coaching staff'

Jahlil Okafor is stuck sitting on the bench in Brooklyn, just like he was in Philadelphia, but he is much happier with his new situation.

Okafor chalks up the difference to the coaching staff. In the same breath in which he praised Nets trainers for helping him regain peak conditioning, he slammed the Sixers for failing to do so.

"I’m happy I’m here with the actual NBA coaching staff that’s taking care of me every day," Okafor told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. "When I was in Philly I was figuring it out on my own. I had my own trainer (Rick Lewis) that I’ve been working with since eighth grade working me out. But it’s a different level when you’re actually working with an NBA staff."

Okafor played in just two games with the Sixers, while receiving 21 DNP-CDs this season. That situation was supposed to change after his long-awaited trade to the Nets, but Okafor again has just one appearance against five DNP-CDs.

The former No. 3 pick of the 2015 draft understands why he isn't playing right now. Okafor says his prolonged absence left him behind the curve in terms of his in-game conditioning.

"A lot of the guys are in midseason form, where I feel like I’m at the start of the season because I haven’t really played. ... I have to catch up to a lot of guys," Okafor said.