On Tuesday, news broke that Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown was named lead man of the Australian national team ahead of the 2020 Olympics. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Sixers star Ben Simmons is an Australian national, creating the chance for him to play under his NBA coach on the international level.
Following the news, we considered the fact that Simmons’ decision to participate in the Olympics or not may fuel speculation about his relationship with his head coach. Following Wednesday’s win over the New York Knicks, Simmons put much of that speculation to rest, at least for now. He told reporters that he was “excited” and “looking forward” to the opportunity. Simmons added that he and Brown “have a great relationship.”
Ben Simmons said if he's healthy, he plans to play for Australia under Brett Brown in the Olympics. "I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it. He's coaching me now, so we have a great relationship. I've known him my whole life. I'm excited to put together a great team."
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) November 21, 2019
Obviously, a lot can change between now and next summer, especially as the Sixers navigate a pressure-packed season in which they are shouldering lofty expectations. There also remains the possibility that Simmons could elect to forgo the summer games for reasons completely unrelated to his relationship with Brown, like health or rest considerations or a desire to focus his attention on his preparations for the NBA season, like he did last summer ahead of the FIBA World Cup.
At least for now, Simmons has emphatically put to rest any concerns over his relationship with Brown (not that there was any reason to believe it wasn’t good in the first place) and it appears there’s a good chance Simmons will suit up for Australia in Tokyo. [lawrence-related id=19548,19539]