Ben Simmons

[Chuck Everett]

Simmons is a highly skilled basketball player with size. Of course he's going to succeed.

[crazy_me_87]

Simmons is a highly skilled basketball player with size. Of course he's going to succeed.

I always said that but somehow alot of people think he wont^^ I dont know if its because he is Australian(Because if he grew up in the US maybe it would be different).. or people do see alot of Lebron in him but are so damn scared to make the comparison even if it fits. Propably both.

Or because he is quite the personality.. reports are he is as driven and mad for the Game as a guy like Kobe.. will scream at Teammates if they play selfish and wont play Team Ball.

[Chuck Everett]

Simmons is a highly skilled basketball player with size. Of course he's going to succeed.

I always said that but somehow alot of people think he wont^^ I dont know if its because he is Australian(Because if he grew up in the US maybe it would be different).. or people do see alot of Lebron in him but are so damn scared to make the comparison even if it fits. Propably both.

Or because he is quite the personality.. reports are he is as driven and mad for the Game as a guy like Kobe.. will scream at Teammates if they play selfish and wont play Team Ball.

Barring injury guy is a 10 year pro at the very least. So the questions are can he become a superstar, all-star? Realistically, asking him to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game (Lebron) is asking too much. But, he doesn't have to be as good as Lebron to be an all-NBA player. He could be a better version of Rudy Gay or on par with Paul George and that would be an all-NBA player.

I tend to evaluate players based on things like that. Comparing Exum to Kobe only inflated expectations to the point of lunacy. Same with Porzingis and Dirk. But neither guy has to be THAT great to end up having a great career.

[crazy_me_87]

Simmons is a highly skilled basketball player with size. Of course he's going to succeed.

I always said that but somehow alot of people think he wont^^ I dont know if its because he is Australian(Because if he grew up in the US maybe it would be different).. or people do see alot of Lebron in him but are so damn scared to make the comparison even if it fits. Propably both.

Or because he is quite the personality.. reports are he is as driven and mad for the Game as a guy like Kobe.. will scream at Teammates if they play selfish and wont play Team Ball.

Barring injury guy is a 10 year pro at the very least. So the questions are can he become a superstar, all-star? Realistically, asking him to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game (Lebron) is asking too much. But, he doesn't have to be as good as Lebron to be an all-NBA player. He could be a better version of Rudy Gay or on par with Paul George and that would be an all-NBA player.

I tend to evaluate players based on things like that. Comparing Exum to Kobe only inflated expectations to the point of lunacy. Same with Porzingis and Dirk. But neither guy has to be THAT great to end up having a great career.

I can agree with you here,
I think many people need to learn the difference between comparing a Player Style wise or saying he will be as good or better.

I doubt anyone(including myself) who compares Ben to Lebron thinks Ben will be as good as Lebron. But Ben obviously copies Lebrons moves and plays alot like him.

If Ben can become a Injury free Grant Hill that would be an amazing Career. Hell even if he "just" Becomes a Scottie Pippen type of Elite Second Option All Arounder its an amazing Career.

He by no means has to become Lebron to be a sucsess. You cant be not a Sucsess if you have a long career,make some All Star Games and maybe even the HOF.

For me it is the fun of watching those Kids. Right now Ben could POTENTIALLY become Lebron 2.0 Ingram could become a Mix of Durant and T-Mac. Skal could become a Bosh/Duncan mix. Is any of that guaranteed or even likley? No of course not. But its also not impossible. the POTENTIAL is there.

Sure Most guys dont reach or even exeed their expectations but it is so much fun to watch a Kid do so. Look at a A.Davis who nobody thought would be that great individually this fast if at all. Thats fun.

Or a Lebron in his first 2 NBA years showing everybody why the hype was totally justified before he even turned 20. Thats fun.

Yes of course for Every Unibrow or every King James you have alot of guys who dont make it. But to me its worth hoping for 100 Amazing young Guys to be Goat Material... 1 usually is.

[EddieJonesFan]

The Simmons bashing on twitter by certain high school scouts on certain websites is odd..it's one thing to not like a player or think he's as good as advertised but it almost seems personal with a lot of these guys..

It seems like politics are more and more involved then ever in player rankings.. It seems like certain sites are mad that Simmons has give espn acess to him and have a vendetta because of it.. The Adults covering teenagers acting like teenagers..

What do you mean by giving espn access to him?

[Dame Lizard]

Game 2 Highlights. Yes there are some easy dunks there, but looking past that, the spin move, the steal & dunk, the blocked 3 PT shot and that ridiculous bounce pass for the fast break dunk were simply awesome.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OpOTNLP4hs[/youtube]

[ItsThatEasy]

Game 2 Highlights. Yes there are some easy dunks there, but looking past that, the spin move, the steal & dunk, the blocked 3 PT shot and that ridiculous bounce pass for the fast break dunk were simply awesome.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OpOTNLP4hs[/youtube]

So I was already on the bandwagon but he legit looks like a focused Lamar Odom which is absolutely worthy of the #1 pick in the draft.

A Lamar Odom who fully realizes his potential is easily an MVP candidate type of player.

[crazy_me_87]

Game 2 Highlights. Yes there are some easy dunks there, but looking past that, the spin move, the steal & dunk, the blocked 3 PT shot and that ridiculous bounce pass for the fast break dunk were simply awesome.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OpOTNLP4hs[/youtube]

So I was already on the bandwagon but he legit looks like a focused Lamar Odom which is absolutely worthy of the #1 pick in the draft.

A Lamar Odom who fully realizes his potential is easily an MVP candidate type of player.

I think many people throw around the Odom comp without knowing what they are saying.

Lamar when drafted and in his rookie year was seen as a HOF caliber Talent. The Size,Athletism,Passing,Rebounding combination makes for the quintessential Missmatch.

Lamar at his best was a 18/8/5 guy.. He did that on his pure talent.

Ben seems to have amazing work ethic and a great approach to the game and scary focus.

If Odom can be a 13/8/4 guy for his career. Ben can easily be a 20/8/5 guy for his career. Propably peaking at something like 25/10/7 wich could easily result in an MVP if he does this while winning.

[ItsThatEasy]

Game 2 Highlights. Yes there are some easy dunks there, but looking past that, the spin move, the steal & dunk, the blocked 3 PT shot and that ridiculous bounce pass for the fast break dunk were simply awesome.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OpOTNLP4hs[/youtube]

So I was already on the bandwagon but he legit looks like a focused Lamar Odom which is absolutely worthy of the #1 pick in the draft.

A Lamar Odom who fully realizes his potential is easily an MVP candidate type of player.

I think many people throw around the Odom comp without knowing what they are saying.

Lamar when drafted and in his rookie year was seen as a HOF caliber Talent. The Size,Athletism,Passing,Rebounding combination makes for the quintessential Missmatch.

Lamar at his best was a 18/8/5 guy.. He did that on his pure talent.

Ben seems to have amazing work ethic and a great approach to the game and scary focus.

If Odom can be a 13/8/4 guy for his career. Ben can easily be a 20/8/5 guy for his career. Propably peaking at something like 25/10/7 wich could easily result in an MVP if he does this while winning.

Not sure if you were debunking my Lamar Odom comp or not? I'm a bit confused by your response.

Ben is absolutely a 25/10/7 guy at his peak which is what a focused Odom would've been.

[crazy_me_87]

So I was already on the bandwagon but he legit looks like a focused Lamar Odom which is absolutely worthy of the #1 pick in the draft.

A Lamar Odom who fully realizes his potential is easily an MVP candidate type of player.

I think many people throw around the Odom comp without knowing what they are saying.

Lamar when drafted and in his rookie year was seen as a HOF caliber Talent. The Size,Athletism,Passing,Rebounding combination makes for the quintessential Missmatch.

Lamar at his best was a 18/8/5 guy.. He did that on his pure talent.

Ben seems to have amazing work ethic and a great approach to the game and scary focus.

If Odom can be a 13/8/4 guy for his career. Ben can easily be a 20/8/5 guy for his career. Propably peaking at something like 25/10/7 wich could easily result in an MVP if he does this while winning.

Not sure if you were debunking my Lamar Odom comp or not? I'm a bit confused by your response.

Ben is absolutely a 25/10/7 guy at his peak which is what a focused Odom would've been.

Maybe i wasnt clear enough,if thats the case i am sorry

I personally see Ben as "Lebron lite" the same way Kobe is "MJ lite" but i can see the "more athletic,focused Odom" comp.

My post was aimed mostly at other people who compare Ben to Odom to say basically "Ben will not be more than a good role player". My response was aimed at those people.

Lamar's pure talent is up there with the greats. If he had amazing work ethic,no drug problems and no personal drama Odom would be a first ballot HOFmer.

And thats what i mean with that. Many people dont realise how amazing a more focused,hard working Lamar Odom would have been. We could talk about a guy who can do it all on both ends can Play basically every Position.. thats crazy.

If a conflicted,unfocused Odom can produce seasons like 19/7/5 or 17/9/4 i can barley imagine what he could have done if he was locked in and didnt have the tragedy in his life.

I am basically trying to say comparing Ben to Lamar is no insult to Ben .. alot of people just forget what Odom's Potential was when entering the NBA.

[ItsThatEasy]

I think many people throw around the Odom comp without knowing what they are saying.

Lamar when drafted and in his rookie year was seen as a HOF caliber Talent. The Size,Athletism,Passing,Rebounding combination makes for the quintessential Missmatch.

Lamar at his best was a 18/8/5 guy.. He did that on his pure talent.

Ben seems to have amazing work ethic and a great approach to the game and scary focus.

If Odom can be a 13/8/4 guy for his career. Ben can easily be a 20/8/5 guy for his career. Propably peaking at something like 25/10/7 wich could easily result in an MVP if he does this while winning.

Not sure if you were debunking my Lamar Odom comp or not? I'm a bit confused by your response.

Ben is absolutely a 25/10/7 guy at his peak which is what a focused Odom would've been.

Maybe i wasnt clear enough,if thats the case i am sorry

I personally see Ben as "Lebron lite" the same way Kobe is "MJ lite" but i can see the "more athletic,focused Odom" comp.

My post was aimed mostly at other people who compare Ben to Odom to say basically "Ben will not be more than a good role player". My response was aimed at those people.

Lamar's pure talent is up there with the greats. If he had amazing work ethic,no drug problems and no personal drama Odom would be a first ballot HOFmer.

And thats what i mean with that. Many people dont realise how amazing a more focused,hard working Lamar Odom would have been. We could talk about a guy who can do it all on both ends can Play basically every Position.. thats crazy.

If a conflicted,unfocused Odom can produce seasons like 19/7/5 or 17/9/4 i can barley imagine what he could have done if he was locked in and didnt have the tragedy in his life.

I am basically trying to say comparing Ben to Lamar is no insult to Ben .. alot of people just forget what Odom's Potential was when entering the NBA.

Ohhh ok, I completely understand where you're coming from now.

I'm certainly not one of those people using the Odom comp to downplay Simmons, I think it's a compliment of the highest order if we're talking about Odom's pure talent.

I like that comp more than "LeBron lite" simply because I see Simmons playing primarily in the front court from the start as opposed to LeBron who started out on the perimeter and then moved his game inwards.

Talent and impact wise he's definitely worthy of a LeBron comp though, that's for sure.

[MCDubbin]

He doesn't look fluid at all. He plays too upright. He's not a bad athlete but definitely not a great one.

[MalonesElbows]

He doesn't look fluid at all. He plays too upright. He's not a bad athlete but definitely not a great one.

For being 6'10" his speed/hops are pretty close to great.

[TKainZero]

He looks good in purple and gold

[crazy_me_87]

He doesn't look fluid at all. He plays too upright. He's not a bad athlete but definitely not a great one.

For being 6'10" his speed/hops are pretty close to great.

I think people that are watching him are forgetting how tall he is,or they simply dont know.

For 6'10 guy he is as athletic,fluid,coordinated,fast as they come.

I have to say even though i know why people started comparing him to Lebron(He said multiple times Lebron is his idol).. but i fear it has hurt him.

People have the Lebron comparison in mind when watching Ben and he is not a Lebron level athlete. But lets be honest Every guy 6'8 or above looks unathletic compared to prime Lebron. Lebron was/is in just another Tier athletically.

If we forget the Lebron thing for a moment... its clear he is outrunning guards on Fast Breaks!,has great Handling for a guy his size,can get his head to rim level and his overall very well coordinated(an underrated athletic aspect).
He IS an elite Athlete compared to everybody his size... exept Lebron. and to be fair He is taller then Lebron. Can anybody name a 6'10 guy who is more athletic then Ben? And i dont mean straight jumping,i mean the total athletical package.

Some people will say Paul George because the myth flows around he would be 6'10.. but every site lists him as 6'9

But thats why i said i fear the Lebron comp hurts him. Honestly every comp to a Top 10 Player of All time can only hurt a young kid..
If you forget the MJ comps and look at Lebrons career just by himself... its much more impressive if you exclude the whole MJ stuff

I think it will be the same with Ben.. he will have a great career very likley HOF even. Maybe become what Grant Hill was supposed to become pre injury. a in his peak, perennial 25/9/7 guy with good defense. Career stats around 21/8/5
10x All Star etc.. Maybe 1 MVP. Thats an amazing Career.. but for many people he will be a disapointment because he didnt become Lebron(or even better)

[Illmatic12]

^@crazy I'm not seeing how Simmons could ever possibly get to 25ppg average in the NBA. Like.. how would he manage to score 25 points in an NBA game consistently? What moves or skills is he displaying to show he can do that?

He doesn't have natural scoring talent, he's mainly a big, gifted athlete who can pass. He can develop his jumpshot and other scoring skills in the NBA, but it's not like he's starting off with great scoring talent.

Comparing him to Grant Hill doesn't make much sense, Hill had a deadly scoring mindset and would go right at MJ/Pippen's necks. Whereas Simmons would rather get assists than go off for 40+.

Simmons best assets are in the *transition* game.. no player has ever scored 20ppg solely off of transition points, the closest was maybe Shawn Marion playing 40mpg on those ridiculously fast Suns teams. In the half court game, Simmons is subpar compared to the bigtime scoring prospects.

And wrt to Odom, are we sure Simmons is a better prospect than LO was? Odom had low post moves and was more offensive minded (bc he developed guard skills playing on the NYC playgrounds as a kid), and he had a longer wingspan which gave him elite defensive impact at his peak. If you put Simmons in that 1999 draft, does he go ahead of Odom?

[Watchlist]

Here a couple of highlights of him when he was only 13 Years old

https://youtu.be/UwDYBsPn0yI

https://youtu.be/-PRvyhkZ91I

[GimmeDat]

Here a couple of highlights of him when he was only 13 Years old

https://youtu.be/UwDYBsPn0yI

https://youtu.be/-PRvyhkZ91I

I'm pretty sure that those ages are wrong. Ben posted these to his own YT channel back when he was over here, I'd say when he was about 15/16. By 17 I think he left for Montverde. This guy's just ripped some of his footage, made up a title and re-posted them.

For those wondering, the first clip is from the junior state league in Victoria, and the 2nd clip is from Australian national's (you can see Exum there in the team playing as well).

[splendidham]

Another nice game from Ben. He's been quite a dominant rebounder. 16r today. Also his ft shooting has been good. 8/10 so far from his 3 games. 5/6 today. There's hope for that jumper yet


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[reanimator]

Do people understand just how poor LSU's schedule is?