Emeka Okafor has had many achievements in his NBA and collegiate (mostly collegiate) career. He lead the UConn Huskies to a national championship his junior year and was crowned National Defensive Player of the Year and Big East Player of the Year and then picked second overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. Great accomplishments all, but his greatest accomplishment has been staying on the court for the first 16 games of this season.

Okafor started each of his first three seasons with injuries that made people lose interest in him and never catch back on. In 2005-06, he only played 26 games. This season, though, he is 16/16. And we at JSB want to congratulate him.

We wanted to interview him on this momentous occasion (Well actually, we have been trying for the past two years.), but we still haven’t gotten the interview. So, instead of interviewing Emeka Okafor, we bring you the next best thing an interview with Emeka’s cousin, Ikenna Okafor, the man we dispatched to interview Emeka two years ago.

Ikenna Okafor also happens to be JSB’s senior Okafor correspondent, so he knows the insider details most people don’t.

Mitchell Blatt: Ikenna, very nice to have you on. First thing first, that interview you say you did with Emeka a few years ago? Can you send it to me?
Ikenna Okafor: I thought I did send it? Check your email. It probably hasn’t arrived yet, but I sent it.

MB: Alright, I’ll check in a few years.
Now do you have any details on Emeka?
IO: Yes. He’s not injured.

MB: Very good. That’s the kind of coverage we expect from JSB correspondents.
Now, how does it feel to not have Emeka injured?
IO: I feel very proud. It’s very exciting to see him healthy.

MB: So, how often do you watch him play?
IO: I don’t watch him at all. I don’t have NBA TV.

MB: So you haven’t actually seen him healthy then?
IO: Well, I try to watch him when he has national games.

MB: How does it feel to be related to him, a pro athlete?
IO: It feels cool. To be related to a very good player is something special. Not many people are blessed with my bloodline.

MB: Does it make up for your utter lack of skill at basketball?
IO: I guess, you know, he’s pretty good.

MB: Going further with that question, how does it feel to have Chris Kaman ahead of Emeka for rebounds?
IO: What? Chris Kaman? Isn’t he that white guy on the Clippers?

MB: I don’t know, let me check his stats. Yeah, he’s white.
IO: Well, I mean, how many does Emeka have? (Eleven.) Yeah, Chris Kaman is having a good year, but Emeka is more consistent. He’ll beat Kaman most years.

MB: Anything else you want to say about Emeka before you go?
IO: Well, he’s just one of the best players in the NBA, and anyone who disagrees can kiss my ass.

You can all start forming a line at Ikenna’s front door now.