The 76ers 6'10 point forward, Ben Simmons, made his NBA debut last night against the Washington Wizards after sitting out all of last season while recovering from foot surgery to repair a Jones fracture.
Simmons, who the 76ers selected with the #1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, got the start last night and he lived up to the hype finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, not to mention only one turnover in his 35 minutes of action.
After the game, he said it felt like he was playing NBA 2K out there.
Per ESPN,
"It felt like I was playing 2K, honestly," Simmons said postgame.
"Just looking at Joel Embiid out there with the lights on his jersey. I was like, 'man, I'm actually here.'"
"I was using my size and speed to my advantage, and I think I did a good job at that," he said. "I could have done it a few more times, maybe we would have won, but we're gonna get there. It would have been better if we got the win, but it's the first game. We have many more to go."
Simmons' teammates also praised his court awareness after the game as well as the 21-year old's ability to find the open man in transition. After the team's 120-115 loss, Robert Convington said there's nobody in the NBA that has the size, vision and ability to make plays in transition like Simmons, except for one LeBron James.
Per ESPN,
"That's where we see Ben doing a lot for us," Robert Covington said. "He's finding the open guys in different transition situations. He has great vision. And being 6-foot-11 ... there's nobody in the league that has that besides LeBron [James]. Guys like Ben, they're rare."
Simmons and the 76ers will return to the court tomorrow night for their home opener against the 0-2 Boston Celtics.
Check out some of the highlights from Simmons' NBA debut below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/921026831247200257