NBA Commissioner Adam Silver read out the name everyone was expecting as Ben Simmons strolled onto the stage at the Barclays Centre as the no.1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
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Philadelphia trusted the process and finally got the prize it heavily coveted.
They have crowned the Australian big man Ben Simmons from Louisiana State University with the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday.
“For me, when I say he’s a two man, he’s a three man, he’s a five or whatever number we anoint somebody with”, Brown said. “I think I can make an impact”.
No matter what position he ends up playing, Ben Simmons is going to be the focal point of the Philadelphia 76ers’ offense.
The Sixers would probably use that pick to get Providence point guard Kris Dunn.
“We’ve had rivalries since we were like seven years old”, Simmons said.
Of course, trading away an Okafor or a Nerlens Noel would also assume that center Joel Embiid is going to be completely healthy and 100 percent to play next season.
“I’ve learned a lot just being around LeBron”, Simmons said.
Simmons’ father, David, played 13 seasons in the Australian National Basketball League, earning all-league honors with Melbourne in 1990 and winning a league championship in 1993.
“It is going to take a lot of work and everyone has to be on board, but we have a young team and I’m looking forward to get there”.
Paul added, “I think we’ll be OK, but you just never know”.
With No. 26 pick, the Sixers chose Furkan Korkmaz, who was teammates with Dario Saric for the past two seasons with Anadolu Efes in the Turkish BSL. “I think to just give him the ball in that capacity is borderline cruel”. He is the latest young player on a team that will begin life without the retired Kobe Bryant next season. “If everything is good, then we look forward to it”.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are getting both a great player and a great person in Brandon Ingram”, said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
It’s been a significant day for Australian basketball with Sudanese-born, Perth-raised Thon Maker selected at number 10 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists playing USA college basketball last season at Louisiana State.
Ingram’s 1,246 minutes played in 2015-16 ranked third on Duke’s freshman chart, while his average of 34.6 minutes per game ranked fourth and was the highest by a Duke freshman since Tommy Amaker in 1984 (36.3).
As for the carelessness, the NBA’s rule that doesn’t allow kids to turn pro until they are one year removed from high school had a big part in that. Prior to this draft, the only time the Celtics drafted an worldwide player in the first round was in 2013, when they took Lucas Nogueira.
After some anxious moments, Simmons said he can’t wait to get started.
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“The teams know who they want and none of us really know that much”, Washington’s Marquese Chriss said.
