Philadelphia 76ers: 5 goals for Ben Simmons in 2017-18

The Philadelphia 76ers are facing elevated expectations for the 2017-18 season largely because of the long awaited debut of Ben Simmons.

Nearly 500 days after being chosen with the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, Ben Simmons is finally expected to make his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers.

A broken right foot injury sustained last September was expected to sideline Simmons for three months, but the doctors for the 76ers eventually ruled him out for the remainder of the year.

Although he has yet to be issued a challenge on Twitter from future Hall-of-Fame guard Kobe Bryant, Simmons has set extremely lofty goals for himself during his first season in the NBA.

"“My goal is to be the best in the league,” Simmons told ESPN. “I’m not worried about other rookies – I’m worried about the guys at the top, and that’s where I want to be.”"

During his lone season at LSU, Simmons was one of the most dominant players in college basketball, averaging 19.2 points on 56 percent shooting from the field, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

The 6’10” forward ranked first in rebounding, second in steals, third in field goal percentage, forth in scoring and fifth in assists among all players in the SEC Conference.

Since Simmons is capable in contributing in a variety of ways and is expected alleviate many of the numerous weaknesses facing Philadelphia’s roster. Here are five goals for Simmons as he enters his highly anticipated debut season with the 76ers.