Australia’s Simmons set for NBA debut with 76ers
LOS ANGELES: Australia’s Ben Simmons is a man in a hurry as he prepares to make his long-awaited NBA debut with the Philadelphia 76ers after missing the entirety of his first season through injury. The 21-year-old point guard from Melbourne is eager to fulfil the lofty expectations that come with being the league’s number one overall draft pick in 2016.
“I want to go in and make sure everybody remembers my name,” Simmons said recently. “I want to get out there and play where everyone’s talking about me.” Philadelphia open the season tomorrow against the Wizards in Washington. The 76ers have fallen on hard times but Simmons is feeling optimistic about making them a contender again. “He is a special talent. He will help them immediately,” said fellow Aussie Matthew Dellavedova who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. The 1.86 metre (6-foot-10) Simmons missed the 2016-17 season after breaking a bone in his right foot.
He rolled his right ankle in the team’s final training camp scrimmage. Team doctors said he would be out three to four months but in February he was ruled out for the entire season because the bone was not fully healed. When the 76ers went out of town last season, Simmons spent the time watching road games on the big screen TV in his bedroom. “It got frustrating not being able to be out there,” he said. “You have people saying things about you, whatever it is, could be negative, positive, but you can’t control it. You just have to sit back and wait.” Simmons was born in 1996 in the northeast Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy to an Australian mother, Julie, and an American father Dave. An accomplished multi-sport athlete at age 14 he had to choose between Australian rules football and basketball, eventually deciding his love of basketball was greater.
Simmons attended high school in Melbourne before moving to Florida. He played one season of American college basketball for Louisiana State University.
NO. 1 OVERALL
He was then chosen number one in the draft by the 76ers, becoming the third Melbourne-born number one overall pick, following Andrew Bogut and Kyrie Irving. He represented Australia at the 2012 FIBA World Under 17 Championships. “I came to the States and no one knew who I was, then they kind of do, then I get injured and no one talks about you for a while,” Simmons told BleacherReport. “So it’s kind of like now I’ve got to build myself back up.” With Simmons in the lineup there is no shortage of talent in Philadelphia this season. But the big question is will that result in more victories than last year when they finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 28-54 record?
Simmons will try to make that happen along with centre Joel Embiid and point guard Markelle Fultz in a potential Philly version of a big three. “He got drafted number one for a reason,” said San Antonio Spurs’ Patty Mills, of Canberra, Australia. “He is going to be great in NBA. His rookie year is all about learning the ways of the NBA.”
Earlier this week the 76ers signed Embiid to a five year $148 million contract extension. Like Simmons, Embiid’s career is just getting started after he missed his first two NBA seasons due to injuries. He has played just 31 games so far. Fultz was the first pick overall in this year’s entry draft. Add a couple of veteran newcomers, J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson to the mix and Philadelphia could be punching their ticket to the playoffs. — AFP