Philadelphia Sixers young 21-year old rookie has had a great start to the 2017-18 campaign, averaging 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks in 36.4 minutes per game of action. This terrific start to the season has the young forward in prime position to win the 2017-18 NBA Rookie Of The Year award. Although there is some competition, including young stars like Donovan Mitchell and Lonzo Ball, who have been proving themselves recently. But Simmons is already in great shape, and after missing his full rookie season last year with a injury, he came into this season in savage mode and has already made a statement in the league.
His all-around ability has been put on display with his fury of dunks, sick passes, cleaning up the glass and also playing solid defense.
The youngster’s solid start to his rookie season has not gone unnoticed though, he has received many compliments and words of advice from some of the best players in the NBA. But he has received a lot of positive advice from one player in particular, and that is the greatest player alive, LeBron James.
LeBron has high praise for the Sixers rookie
After the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 105-98 two weeks ago, LeBron James took to his Instagram page to speak about the Sixers rookie. The Australian prospect dropped 14 points with 10 assists and 6 rebounds against the King and his Cavaliers squad, as the Sixers put up a strong effort, staying close right to the very end against the defending Eastern Conference champions.
The Sixers have a very young and talented core which should make them a force to be reckoned with over the next few years, and ‘the chosen one’ was impressed enough with their rookie, that he posted the following on Instagram:
King James recently went as far as to say that Ben Simmons can be better than him. Just like LeBron, Ben is a freak athlete and already has a great IQ of the game of basketball with a great all around on-court ability.
To be greater than a guy regarded as the greatest to ever do it, is something very very hard to do, but Simmons will put the work in and try to be the best he can be anyway.
The next LeBron?
Since King James was drafted in 2003 and took the NBA by storm, there has been a lot of players that have come and gone that have been compared to LeBron James at some point.
‘The next LeBron’ is a phrase that has been thrown around, just like how ‘The next Jordan’ has been used. But there has yet to be a player that has legitimately lived up to that title, and that’s not particularly their fault, its more or less the King’s fault for being so great.
Since LeBron James is seemingly doing unheard of things in his 15th season, and on pace to break all kinds of records in the next few years. It will be hard for Ben Simmons to live up to that potential, but in LeBron’s eyes, he has the best chance to do so
