Ben Simmons has caught a lot of people by surprise this season. Even though the Philadelphia 76ers point guard was a former No. 1 pick, not many people thought he’d be quite this good this soon. Even his own head coach, the Sixers' Brett Brown, has been caught off guard by Simmons’ immense athletic gifts.
“I didn’t realize that he was going to be as gifted athletically, immediately,” Brown said per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I see it clearly now,” the coach sad. “You wished and you hoped, but you didn’t know. … Now, I know.”
Simmons missed all of last season after breaking his right foot, so Brown and the rest of the world had to wait to see just why he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. However, that injury might’ve been a blessing in disguise for the 21-year-old, who was able to work on his body for a full year in the team’s practice facility while recovering from his injury.
Thankfully, Simmons hasn’t suffered any relapse of that foot injury and his athleticism has returned in full. Combine that elite athleticism with his more NBA-ready body, and the results speak for themselves: 17.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and two triple-doubles through 10 games. Not bad for a rookie.
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