Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons has gone a long way from winning the controversial Rookie of the Year plum in 2018 over Donovan Mitchell. Now in his fourth year in the league, Simmons takes pride not just in his playmaking skills—which is the main reason for his rise—but also in his defensive skills. So much so that he's confident that he'll be crowned Best Defensive Player this season.
After the Sixers' 113-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Simmons expressed his belief that he'll win the Defensive Player of the Year Award this season.
In the Sixers post game media session Tyrese Maxey interrupts Ben Simmons session by saying “Defensive Player of the Year!”
Simmons replies “yeah. He ain’t lying”
— Isaac Harris (@IsaacLHarris) April 13, 2021
This is not a case of Adrian Broner believing that he actually won against Manny Pacquiao. Analysts and fans have placed Simmons on top of their Defensive Player of the Year rankings so far. The statistics, too, speak for themselves.
As of this writing, the Sixers have a 106.4 defensive rating for second in the NBA behind the Los Angeles Lakers (105.6). Simmons has played a key part in that, as he's averaging 1.6 steals per game for ninth in the league. He also leads the league in deflections per game with 3.9 and loose balls recovered with 1.4.
He'll take care of it on both ends.
📺 @NBCSPhilly | @BenSimmons25 pic.twitter.com/sglaeGia8c
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 2, 2021
Ben Simmons' defense didn't just pop out of nowhere as well. Last season, he actually led the league in steals and was selected into the NBA All-Defensive Team. The Australian has been working his tail off to get that coveted award and get that recognition. The best part is that the Sixers star knows that he'll win. It's only a matter of time.
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