The Philadelphia 76ers are led by one of the brightest stars in the game in Ben Simmons who celebrated his 24th birthday on Monday. In his short time in the NBA, he has made an All-Star team twice, won a Rookie of the Year award, and he is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year in 2020.
The only blemish of his game is his lack of a jump shot and that is something on the minds of a lot of anxious fans, but it also does not change the fact that he does everything else at an elite level. He has made a huge impact on the Sixers and he has continued to grow as a player.
“To be a 2-time NBA All-Star to be discussed in a very serious way as a Defensive Player of the Year to certainly be on an All-League Defensive Team to being rewarded with a max contract to come in and play a point guard primary ball-handler position all along that path achieving some of those things that I just said and then be able to pivot out and play an interior position, the versatility that I just discussed and then be rewarded is off the charts unique,” said coach Brett Brown. “His better days are well and truly ahead of him.”
The fact that Simmons is already one of the better players in the league and he just turned 24 is something that has to be awed at. He has already made so many strides as a player and now that he is beginning to show off some semblance of a jump shot, the Sixers are in a position where they can compete for a title right now.
“The foundation that he has already established at such an incredibly young age, I don’t think gets the full praise that it should,” Brown added. “I think that the Philadelphia 76ers are very fortunate to have him in our uniform for I’m sure a very long time.”
A lot of people understand the talent that he possesses, but the Sixers have not been able to put it together in the postseason and that is where the frustration comes in for most people. However, the greats always took a lot of time to win a title. LeBron James did not win a title until his ninth season in the league, Kevin Durant did not win until his 10th season, and Michael Jordan did not win until his seventh season. This all takes time.
“Just think about that age and when you start referencing some of the other great players in our league, just from a statistics or acknowledgment perspective if you start draping championships at what age did these other great players experience championship success, you’re going to find there’s a commonality of about 28-years old seems to be the honey spot,” Brown explained. “He just turned 24.”
The Sixers will get their chance on August 1 to continue the 2019-20 season. [lawrence-related id=35040,35037,35023]