It has been a spectacular year for Philadelphia 76ers youngster Ben Simmons, to say the least. After missing his entire debut season with a pesky foot injury, the Sixers point-forward has evolved into a star player in his rookie season.
Simmons is currently averaging 16.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 53 percent from the field. The Sixers are currently ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference and they owe much of this success to Simmons, who has been phenomenal this year.
He has repeatedly been named as a frontrunner for the league's Rookie of the Year award and remains the favorite to claim the title.
Despite his success this year, many people have wondered how Simmons plays so well for his age. After being asked if he felt the rookie wall during his first active season, Simmons quickly said no.
Asked if he’s felt the rookie wall at all this season, Ben Simmons shook his head and said, “No.”
— Jessica Camerato (@JessicaCamerato) March 10, 2018
At the beginning of his season, Sixers head coach Brett Brown expressed that Simmons would run the point guard position, via an article by Scott Howard-Cooper several months ago for NBA.com.
“You could call him Isiah Thomas, the old Isiah Thomas of my generation. You could call him Chris Paul. I mean point guard point guard. There are times I think that he can be a point guard. Not Draymond Green. Not LeBron. Not Lamar Odom. That's a point forward. I walk both lines at different moments. To start him off, we’ll play him as a point forward.”
Initially, there were some concerns with Simmons becoming the Sixers' point guard, but now it is clear that he is more than capable of assuming such duties. As the Sixers prepare to hopefully enter the postseason, Simmons will have the chance to further prove himself on the league's biggest stage.
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