Ben Simmons Reaches Rookie Totals LeBron, MJ, And Magic Did Not
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, 50 steals, and 50 blocks.
Here's the list of NBA rookies that have hit all of those marks since 1973-94, when blocks and steals entered the records:
- Ben Simmons
That's it. That's the list.
Simmons has 1,068 points / 512 rebounds / 507 assists / 58 blocks / 111 steals with 15 games to play.
Michael Jordan was 19 assists short, LeBron James was 68 rebounds and 35 assists short, and Magic Johnson was nine blocks short.
Furthermore, Jordan was playing 38.3 minutes per game as a rookie, James was playing 39.5 minutes per game as a rookie, and Johnson was playing 36.3 minutes per game as a rookie.
Simmons is averaging just 34.5 minutes per game.
In Thursday night's win, Simmons recorded a triple-double in his second straight game, his eighth of the season. Only Oscar Robertson has more as a rookie.
Simmons joined Johnson and Oscar Robertson as the only rookies to ever achieve 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists.
"It's surreal knowing that the game's been played for a long time and so many greats have been through," Simmons said per ESPN.com. "I've set a record with Magic and Oscar Robertson, which is surreal to me."
What about defensive you say? Simmons may be the NBA's most versatile defender. I didn't make the case, this guy did.
Now, this isn't to stay Simmons will become, or already is, a better basketball player than the three aforementioned Hall Of Famers. Simmons isn't the assassin scorer Jordan was, he doesn't have the power and explosiveness James had (and still has), and he doesn't have the court awareness that Johnson had.
Yet.
The point is, Simmons is having a historic rookie year and his ceiling is uncapped.
