Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons is ready to take the league by storm

With a full offseason of preparations behind him, the Philadelphia 76ers and the NBA are eagerly awaiting the debut of Ben Simmons.

Although the current talent level across the NBA is seemingly at an all-time high, last season’s rookie class was somewhat underwhelming.

The fact that the No. 36 overall selection, Malcolm Brogdon, took home the Rookie of the Year honors gives weight to just how unimpressive last year’s rookie crop was.

Of course, the glaring omission from the 2016 draft class was the No. 1 overall selection in Ben Simmons. After suffering a right foot fracture during the Philadelphia 76ers‘ training camp last year, Simmons was sidelined for the entire season, primarily as a precaution.

But in the meantime, a new draft class has come along that has more than attracted the attention of the media. The Sixers themselves traded up in the draft in order to grab the No. 1 overall selection, landing multi-dimensional guard Markelle Fultz. In addition to Fultz, Lonzo Ball, the No. 2 overall selection, has generated enormous interest league-wide, primarily due to the constant promotional efforts of his father, LaVar Ball.

So entering his debut campaign, Simmons has been somewhat placed in the background due to the new crop of players coming through. Despite this, Simmons looks clearly on target to make some serious noise in his own right.

Just recently, Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo detailed the positive outlook the franchise has for the 6’10” Australian:

Furthermore, Colangelo added:

But these sentiments shouldn’t come as a surprise if you’re a regular social media follower.

The Sixers’ head of strength and conditioning, Todd Wright, has made multiple posts this offseason highlighting the work being put in by Simmons and several of his teammates. Here’s a post Wright made of Simmons just this week, clearly showing no ill-effects of his injured foot:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZKNXoFAyhC/?taken-by=toddwright_coach

The last line in that post is certainly defining:

"“And in Philly, it all starts on the defensive end.”"

Just this week, Sixers’ head coach Brett Brown detailed the high-level of confidence he has for Simmons on the defensive end of the floor:

"“I think that because of his versatility, he’s going to be able to put out a lot of fires. I think because of his foot speed and length, if he gets cross-matched on a point guard, I’m OK with that…. I just feel like he can do a lot because of his physical gifts.“I think most importantly out of all of it, I feel like he has a chance to be an elite multi-purpose defensive player.”"

With that being said, as a 6’10” ball-handler and floor general, running the offense is what all involved with the Sixers are most looking forward to seeing this season. As Colangelo noted this offseason:

"“….when you’ve got someone with [Simmons’] unique skillset – his size, strength, power. He’s a transformational type of player, potentially, at [the point guard] spot.”"

But to fully understand how Simmons is feeling as his debut season approaches, just check out his sentiments from this Instagram post made last month:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXgI4wYg2xr/?taken-by=bensimmons

This insight into Simmons’ mindset as he enters his debut season is incredibly exciting for Sixers fans who have endured plenty of heartache in recent years.

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So with training camp on the horizon, the excitement levels surrounding Ben Simmons and the rest of the Sixers’ emerging core, are only going to rise.