Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers has had an incredibly accomplished start to his NBA career. Though the 23-year-old redshirted his rookie season in 2016-17, the Australian roared back with a vengeance in his actual first playing year of 2017-18. He won a tightly contested Rookie of the Year vote against Donovan Mitchell.
Now that Simmons has suffered a back injury for the 76ers – a season in which he had been leading the NBA in steals with 2.1 per game – NBA Twitter users are worming out of the woodwork to take the talented star down a peg.
However, 76ers Head Coach Brett Brown is trumpeting patience with the two-time All-Star. Similar to how Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was afforded patience as a raw prospect when he was drafted.
Brown was quoted in an ESPN story by Kane Pittman on the subject:
“I pinch myself when I say he's 23 years old, I mean really, the stuff that he does – he's incredibly maligned sometimes to a point you just learn to ignore stuff. He's 23 – he's a two-time All-Star, he was a college four man that I made an NBA point guard because he didn't come into a program with Chris Paul. So, it was like ‘what can you do … oh, you're going to be the point guard.'”
Indeed, though Simmons is regarded as an NBA point guard, his swiss-army-knife versatility on the defensive end coupled with innate athleticism and unteachable length make him a devastating defender. He often times shutting down the opposing team’s best player.
With Simmons likely out for some time with the injury, let’s hope his fans – and even his detractors – give the 23-year-old the patience and respect he deserves.
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