Simmons set to soar
IF you thought Ben Simmons was good in his rookie NBA campaign, wait until the 2018/19 NBA season.
That’s the opinion of Simmons’ Sydney-raised Philadelphia 76ers teammate Jonah Bolden, who believes his fellow Australian will back up his Rookie of the Year title with another standout year.
“I have no doubt that Ben is going to do what he did last year,” Bolden said.
“I don’t see him going anywhere but up. He has already got God-given talents and now the work he puts in will be shown in this next year to come.”
Simmons will be in Sydney tonight to launch his NBA 2K19 cover at the Throwback basketball merchandise store in Darlinghurst.
The Newcastle-raised talent is the first Australian representative to feature on the NBA2K19 cover.
Hopefully the Sixers star can build a strong combination with Bolden during the year.
The 22-year-old agreed to a four-year $7 million rookie contract with Philadelphia last month.
He was selected with the 36th pick in the 2017 NBA draft but spent last season honing his game in Israel, where he won the championship with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Now Bolden will play alongside Simmons at the Sixers, 20 years after their fathers, Dave and Bruce, were teammates with the Sydney Kings during the 1998 NBL season.
“It is very special,” he said.