Simmons Kingdom Come

Ben Simmons ain’t your average rookie. The 21-year-old point forward is already racking up triple-doubles and carrying a legit contender through the playoffs—and he’s barely gotten his feet wet. Process that.

- Yaron Weitzman

Dwyane Wade first met Ben Simmons a few years ago. He can’t remember exactly when, but what he does remember was that it was for a summer workout, and that LeBron was there, too, and that Simmons at the time was a skilled but shy Australian kid who had just recently come over to the United States to play high level high school basketball.

And also this:

“You could see the way he looked at guys like ourselves and how we worked, he was taking notes, mental notes,” Wade recalled prior to a recent practice in his first-round playoff series against Simmons’ Philadelphia 76ers, a series in which Simmons carved up Wade’s Heat and became only the fifth rookie in NBA history to record a postseason triple-double. “To see him a few years later and see where he is in his game, it’s impressive. He’s on a different level.”

During that same series, Simmons’ teammate, veteran guard JJ Redick, summed up Simmons’ game similarly, saying: “It’s almost become expected now that he’s going to go average a triple-double.”

That’s barely hyperbole. Simmons finished his rookie season averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game, all while helping lead the Sixers to a 52-win season and a first-round series victory over the Miami Heat.

As far as rookies go, what Simmons did, and is doing as of this writing, in his first year in the League is nearly unprecedented. There’s the Oscar Robertson-like numbers and the All-NBA-level defense and the point guard skills and poise and feel. All that packed into a ripped 6-10 frame and you can’t help but think of previous and current one-name greats—you know, guys like Magic and LeBron.