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CHICAGO, USA – FEBRUARY 22: Ben Simmons (25) of Philadelphia 76ers in action during the NBA basketball match between Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, United States on February 22, 2018. (Photo by Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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CHICAGO, USA – FEBRUARY 22: Ben Simmons (25) of Philadelphia 76ers in action during the NBA basketball match between Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, United States on February 22, 2018. (Photo by Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Ben Simmons is one of the best young players in the NBA. The Australian was the number one pick in the 2016 NBA Draft for the Philadelphia 76ers. But he got injured his first season and didn’t play for the entirety of the first year.
In his second year, Simmons completely took over. He played an amazing season and won the 2018 Rookie of the Year award.
Simmons is a fantastic scorer and passer. However, the one criticism levied on Simmons is his inability to shoot the ball. If he develops a decent shot, he would become a fantastic player.
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NEW YORK, USA – JANUARY 20 : Ben Simmons (25) of Philadelphia 76ers is seen during NBA match between Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets held on January 20, 2020 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Simmons’ new teammate Dwight Howard, who left the Lakes, has given him a fantastic seal of approval. Howard compared Simmons to NBA superstar LeBron James and said, “It’s a very real comparison, and I’ve been seeing this for a couple years. Ben Simmons is a young LeBron who’s developing an overall game.”
Howard praised Simmons’ unselfishness in play and his playmaking prowess and said, “I love the way he plays, I love how unselfish he is, and how mean he can be to other teams and that’s important.”
Howard heaps praise on Ben Simmons
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TORONTO, ON- APRIL 27 – Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) falls to the ground after getting fouled by Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) as the Toronto Raptors play the Philadelphia 76ers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. April 27, 2019. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Howard talked about how good Simmons was as a point guard and was able to do things that forwards are more known to do. He said that Simmons’ play drives his teammates to be better. Howard added, “When you have your point guard coming down, dunking on people, flexing, getting big rebounds, talking trash, doing all those things, it drives you to want to be better.”
Howard continued to praise Simmons, and the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year said that Simmons had room to improve and could go down as one of the greatest ever players in NBA history. He also noted how excited he was to help Simmons achieve that status in Philadelphia.
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Howard said, “Watching him over the years, I see it. He has an opportunity to be one of the greatest to ever play the game, and I’m glad I have the opportunity to actually give him some things that can help him along the way.”
Ben Simmons and Dwight Howard will take on the court together with the 76ers when the NBA season resumes on December 22. Now under new coach Doc Rivers, the 76ers will be hoping to finally become championship contenders this year.
