Jaylen Brown answers questions during an interview after being selected third overall by the Boston Celtics during the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 23, 2016, in NY.
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“Ben was six-foot, seven in year nine, so he was always going to be something special, but this is probably at the high end of what we expected”.
“It honestly feels like all this pressure just has hopped off me”, the Southeastern Conference’s freshman of the year told reporters Thursday night in NY.
“I’m happy that the Sixers chose me”, he said at Barclays Center in NY. “When my agent told me I was going to be playing in a few weeks, it was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to play still.’ It’s amusing how things work”. I’ve been looking forward to this day for a while, so I’m glad I’ve made history, not only for myself, but my family and Australian basketball. He stands at 2.08cm tall.
There has been comparisons to his game with a young LeBron James.
Simmons becomes Philadelphia’s second No. 1 pick in the lottery era (since 1985), joining guard Allen Iverson who was drafted first out of Georgetown in 1996.
Ben Simmons climbed on stage to the sound of cheers from a Philly-filled crowd hoping he could turn around the 76ers.
Ben Simmons taken at No.1 in NBA Draft, with his journey including a tournament in Bendigo as a 15-year-old.
He averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game last season.
Those statistics show his all-round potential, both as an offensive threat and a defensive presence.
If he couldn’t make LSU into a victor, how is he going to do that with the Sixers?
If there is a knock on Simmons it’s that he does not possess a consistent jump shot.
A handful of players with area ties heard their names called in the second round, led by Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon, the ACC’s player of the year, who was selected with the 36th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Call it a point 4”, said Brown at the Sixers’ draft headquarters.
His teammate Dante Exum was drafted in 2014 by the Utah Jazz with the fifth pick.
Simmons hugged his mother Julie and father Dave, an NBL great, after National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver announced the selection inside the Barclays Center.
He will reportedly earn AUD$7.7 million in his first season and that will rise over the next three years of his rookie contract with the inflating salary cap.
Simmons worked out for the Sixers on Tuesday _ they were the only team for which he worked out _ and general manager Bryan Colangelo gushed afterward.
“You can’t help but feel like you can touch people and see a team that’s taking shape and not feel like it’s going to move a lot”, Brown said. I remember I used to have the cornrows when I was younger.
After his workout for Philadelphia, Simmons said he was ready for the Draft.
What added to Simmons’ excitement in being a part of the 76ers is head coach Brett Brown, who was the coach of his dad David before with the Melbourne Tigers in Australia.
Dave’s advice for his son was simple.
“Position-wise, I think I’ll be a point forward, Simmons told believethehypenba.com via Cisco tele-presence”.
“A fabulous player, just one of those kids who kept getting better, maturing and stronger all the time”, Goorjian said in an earlier interview with The Associated Press.
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Simmons could feature for the Sixers in the NBA Summer League, starting on July 8.
