When the Philadelphia 76ers won the right to select first overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, they were in a great position to draft a legitimate star in the form of LSU’s Ben Simmons. The Sixers made the right choice and selected the 6-foot-10 versatile guard and he has since turned in a fine NBA career thus far.
He is one of many number 1 overall picks made over the past 20 years so the question now becomes where does he rank among those players?
A ranking done by Bleacher Report has Simmons ranked as the 10th best number 1 pick. He is just ahead of New Orleans Pelicans phenom Zion Williamson at 11 and just behind Washington Wizards guard John Wall at 9.
B/R on Simmons:
Another player who has risen up this list quickly, Ben Simmons has just three NBA seasons under his belt. And despite almost constant noise regarding his unwillingness to shoot threes, he’s already one of the NBA’s most versatile players.
Oscar Robertson is the only player in league history to total at least as many points (3,518) rebounds (1,779) and assists (1,713) as Simmons through his first three seasons. And since the 6’10” point guard entered the NBA, only 11 players have more wins over replacement player.
Of course, it’d be nice if Simmons eventually developed into an average shooter, but his overall production is already elite without that.
Simmons is so elite out on the floor that it suppresses his few shortcomings. He has morphed into an elite defender who should be the leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 and he has done an excellent job of getting to the line a bit more and being more aggressive on offense. He is a terrific talent at the end of the day and the Sixers should feel lucky to have him leading the way. [lawrence-related id=33372,33365,33359]