Australian basketball sensation Ben Simmons has been selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Simmons is just the second Aussie number one draft pick; Andrew Bogut, who was taken as the top pick by Milwaukee in 2005, is the other.
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In the lead-up to the draft, there was speculation Simmons might be overlooked in favour of Duke’s Brandon Ingram, who seemed to fill more of a positional ‘need’ for Philadelphia.
But despite having a number of other young and talented frontcourt players like Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel, the 76ers decided to go with Simmons, who plays at the power forward position.
Simmons entered his college season with Louisiana State University as the consensus number-one prospect and displayed some phenomenal skills once he hit the court. His combination of size and athleticism, along with a level of passing and playmaking many believed to be the best in the country, had pundits raving, with Magic Johnson rating him as the best all-around player since LeBron James.
Despite his clear talent and potential, Simmons was hampered by an underperforming team. LSU missed the NCAA tournament at the end of the season despite his excellent averages of 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and two steals per game.
The team’s failure led many to question Simmons’ mentality and will to dominate opponents.
“He is not the catalyst, and he does not have the mental makeup to say, ‘okay, I’m coming in here to average 25, be the man.’ He wants to fit in,” said one NBA executive.
Jonathan Givony, writing for the Vertical, said, “Simmons has displayed an apathy for defense, contact and delivering winning plays in crucial moments. Those troubling revelations in Simmons’ game are cause for concern among decision-makers on lottery teams with whom we’ve had contact.”
But despite these concerns, Simmons still proved too valuable to pass over with the top pick, the 76ers obviously believing the Australian’s unique combination of elite-level passing, ball-handling, size and athleticism will help them right the ship after a dismal past few seasons in Philadelphia.
Simmons will now link up with the 76ers squad and head to Las Vegas for the NBA’s Summer League, which tips off on July 8 (US time).
Fellow Aussie Thon Maker, one of the tallest players in the draft, has been taken by the Milwaukee Bucks at pick 10.
Maker, an Australian refugee, lived in Perth and Sydney until he was 14, when he moved to the US.
He was considered a floater in the NBA Draft, predicted to go anywhere between 1 and in the later rounds.
It’s great to see two Aussies in the top ten!
Congratulations to both of them.
Thon on his game: …a modern version of KG…I can stretch the floor a little more. #TeamAllLength #BucksDrafthttps://t.co/z03u3kwNow
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) June 24, 2016
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