Simmons to prove critics wrong

I can think of no greater pressure placed on an athlete than being the No.1 overall pick in one of the four major US sports.

A franchise, or rather an entire city, has their hopes pinned squarely on you, while the rest of the sport-watching world are just waiting to label you a bust, a waste of talent and a waste of money.

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But what about if that franchise and that city had suffered through years of mediocrity waiting for a player of your transcendent talent to arrive and lead the revival?

What if their catchcry was “trust the process”, the pinnacle of that process selecting you with their coveted pick.

What if, after one season of college basketball, you’d been compared to two of the all-time greats?

Likened to LeBron? Matched up with Magic?

Anointed the next big thing and a “once-in-a-generation player” before even making your professional debut?

Ben Simmons knows that pressure. He has been living it since before the Philadelphia 76ers made it official and used the No. 1 overall pick to select him in last month’s NBA draft.

But adding to the weight already on Simmons’ rangy 2.08 metre, 109 kilogram frame is that, despite his undisputed ability, the 19-year-old has been the target of intense criticism from NBA analysts and fans in the US.

I’ve heard all of these perceived deficiencies.

Questions about his attitude and character, competitiveness and willingness to take over a game.

Doubts about his jump shot and lack of shooting range.

Universal condemnation of his inability to lead his college team, Louisiana State University, to the NCAA tournament, and well-publicised academic issues that made him ineligible for the competition’s player of the year award.

And a belief by some that he is entitled and arrogant, that he doesn’t get along with his teammates.

Ben Simmons bashing basically became a national pastime in the US in the months between the college season and NBA draft.

I can’t remember a presumptive No. 1 pick being the subject of so much fervid debate.

But were those concerns justified?

Or the result of thrusting a 19-year-old kid under the national microscope? Poking and prodding him until whatever weaknesses rose to the surface?

I believe Simmons is a once-in-a-generation talent.

A special combination of size, speed, athleticism, passing ability, court vision and versatility.

He is one of the most fluid and coordinated athletes you’ll find, able to control his body and operate at speeds unprecedented for a player his size.

A point-forward, much like LeBron James, who can run the floor like a freight-train, post up like a big man, score off the dribble or attract a double team and feed the ball to his teammates.

Simmons can beat you any number of ways.

And by the time his career is over, he has the potential to not just be Australia’s greatest ever basketballer, but our greatest ever athlete.

An influential figure that could inspire a generation of young Australians to pick up a basketball instead of a Steeden or Sheerin, much like Michael Jordan did when the sport exploded onto the global stage during the 1990s.

In an era when there are more Aussies in the NBA than ever, the emergence of Simmons could see the sport’s popularity skyrocket here at home.

And while Simmons has copped plenty of flack for his attitude, so far most of it has been unfair.

When Simmons initially declined a pre-draft workout in Philadelphia he was labelled “cocky”, “ungrateful” and “unprofessional” by some analysts, while others opined that he was trying to distance himself from the undesirable 76ers in the hope of falling to the more favourable Los Angeles Lakers.

The fact that Simmons had, at that stage, declined to workout for any team was mentioned only in the small print.

The reality is Simmons is a quiet kid.

Humble but competitive and intensely focused on his dream of playing in the NBA.

His jump shot is undoubtedly the major knock on his game.

But it’s something he can work on.

Repetitions in the gym and experience can only make him better and there is plenty of time for that where he’s going.

It’s the intangibles you can’t teach. His ability to see the floor, anticipate and execute.

Claims he is arrogant and entitled might stem from his friendship with LeBron, arguably the most polarising athlete in the world, the massive shoe deal he signed with Nike and the fact he snubbed the major colleges to play for a football school like LSU.

There is no doubt his college career didn’t turn out the way he planned.

But it didn’t hurt his draft stock and he was always going to be a “one and done” player, a student athlete who plays their freshman season before declaring for the pros.

He was not at university to earn a degree. That was clear going in.

At Louisiana State University, Simmons finished with some eye-popping numbers, averaging 19 points, 11 rebounds and nearly five assists in 33 games.

But his final game at LSU, an embarrassing 71-38 loss to Texas AandM in the Southeastern Conference semi-finals, Simmons was the only player on the Tigers to score in double figures.

That was a feature of so many of LSU’s games.

While they had this prodigious talent on the roster, the rest of team didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

That is unlikely to be the case at the 76ers in the long run with the front office expected to surround Simmons with talented pieces in a bid to return the franchise to its former glory.

But he won’t be great right away. Even LeBron took three years to guide the Cavaliers to the playoffs.

Philadelphia fans will need to continue to trust the process.

Trust that Simmons has what it takes to prove his detractors wrong.

There is no greater pressure. But Ben Simmons is ready.