Emeka Okafor has always been someone to look up to, not only for his basketball skills but for his intelligence, class and leadership.

So it may come as little surprise that one of the first people Jason Collins called before the Sports Illustrated article that announced that he's gay was made public was Emeka Okafor, who was Collins' teammate on the Washington Wizards this season.

"I'm happy for him and I congratulated him," Okafor told Yahoo! Sports on Monday. "While it's a great thing, it's tough not knowing how it will be perceived. Whenever you're the first there is always that uncertainty. He called me right before the article came out and told me. But before that I didn't know ... I told him that I thought it was a very brave thing that he's doing."

Okafor added that he didn't believe the fact that Collins is gay would have a negative affect in the locker room.

"We all get along so great," he said. "Jason was part of the group. I thought the only difference is him coming out saying he's gay. He's still the same person. He still has the same rapport with us. Everything is going to be the same."