76ers Select Ben Simmons With No. 1 Pick
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's official. Ben Simmons is a Philadelphia 76er.
With the first pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday, the Sixers selected Simmons, a 6'10", 240-pound forward from LSU. Simmons entered college as a five-star recruit, three-time national high school champion, and the No. 1 player in the nation in 2015.
Simmons, 19, was born in Melbourne, Australia. Ben's father Dave is a Melbourne Tigers basketball legend and was coached by current Sixers head coach Brett Brown.
"For me, I just want to be the number one player," Simmons said last week. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to go first, so if I go first it's awesome. I've worked so far to just be that and go to a team like that. So, wherever I go I'll be lucky to be picked up."
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On Tuesday, Simmons posted a photo of himself on Instagram wearing a Sixers practice jersey with the caption: "Trust the process." Sixers center Joel Embiid did the same on his Twitter page.
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In his freshman season at LSU, Simmons became the first college basketball player to average at least 19 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists per game since 1986. Also, Simmons became the first player in SEC history to finish in the top-five in scoring, rebounding, and assists. He also was tied for the league lead in steals.
LeBron James is a mentor of Simmons, whose game has hints of LeBron in it.
"At times you can see like a younger LeBron [James] where you're not sure what position he is," Brown said. "At one moment you think he's a four, maybe he's a three, he looks comfortable handling the ball.
