No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons suffered a broken bone in his foot and fans of the Philadelphia 76ers and the NBA as a whole were not pleased. In fact, various members of Basketball Twitter weighed in on the news in the immediate aftermath and, somewhat predictably, the reactions were very similar.
https://twitter.com/thecauldron/status/781982442378919936
Heaven forbid there's too much excitement.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) September 30, 2016
https://twitter.com/netw3rk/status/781985257251860480
Unfreakingbelievable. https://t.co/OKCcsV9doX
— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) September 30, 2016
Beyond that, the widespread panic of the injury itself always made way for fears that Simmons’ foot ailment could be a Jones fracture in a similar fashion to the one that afflicted Kevin Durant.
https://twitter.com/hpbasketball/status/781984453971152896
Don’t let it be a Jones fracture.
Don’t let it be a Jones fracture.
Don’t let it be a Jones fracture.
Don’t let it be a Jones fracture.— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) September 30, 2016
In addition, word quickly spread to current NBA players, including veteran point guard Jarrett Jack, who owns the reputation of a player many in the league love and respect.
https://twitter.com/Jarrettjack03/status/781989192477843456
Even fellow No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns passed along good wishes.
Get well soon @BenSimmons25 🙏🏽
— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) September 30, 2016
At this point, the news has moved from “reported” to official when it comes to Simmons and his injury status, and the next level will be deciphering a legitimate timeframe for his return. The Philadelphia 76ers have been largely cursed with injury issues in the recent past, most notably with big man Joel Embiid, but hopefully in this case, the organization will gain an unexpected reprieve in that Simmons’ injury will be less severe than doomsday purveyors are suggesting.
