Bolden belongs and Ben big fan

BEN Simmons says fellow Australian Jonah Bolden has proven he “belongs” in the NBA with strong performances during Philadelphia’s training camp.

Ahead of Bolden’s first preseason appearance in a Sixers uniform against Melbourne United today, Simmons gave the Sydney-raised forward the golden seal of approval.

“He [Jonah] has been playing well and doing everything on the court,” Simmons said.

“He is also a great person and teammate.

“I watched him a lot back in high school and he has the same game but he has just gotten a lot better, which is amazing.

“He is great — he belongs here. For our dads to have competed and for us to play together is kind of weird also with Brett [Brown] having coached both our dads.

“I think Jonah knows what to expect, but probably before the game I’ll say some words to him but he is going to be fine.”

Simmons is expecting a tough clash against a strong Melbourne outfit that went within one basket of beating a star-studded Oklahoma City in last year’s inaugural NBL versus NBA series.

He previously declared United could beat the Sixers and he hasn’t changed his mind.

“They’ve got some great players and they play the game the right way,” he said.

“That is one thing about Australian teams; they play the game the right way.

“It is going to be a good test for us. But we are going to take them seriously. They are a good team and well coached, so it is going to be a lot of fun.”

Bolden is equally excited to take on a Melbourne side he trained with in September while holidaying in Australia.

He also urged the United players to use today’s trial against the Sixers as a chance to follow in his footsteps and push for the NBA.