Ben Simmons Was A Human Highlight Reel In His NBA Preseason Debut With The Sixers

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The excitement surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers as we head into the 2017-18 NBA regular season couldn’t be higher, and for good reason. They have a roster chalk-full of young talent, many of whom we’ve yet to see on an NBA court. Joel Embiid brings enough talent and intrigue on his own, but when you add the likes of Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons to that mix, you’ve got a squad that sits alone atop most NBA League Pass rankings.

If you’ve got to pick one element of the Philadelphia basketball experience and single it out as having the most hype, it has to be Ben Simmons. Simmons, of course, missed all of his rookie season after being the top pick in the 2016 NBA Draft as he recovered from foot surgery that repaired a Jones fracture. The 76ers kept him on the shelf for all of 2016-17, but he’s healthy now, and on Wednesday night we finally got a glimpse of what he can do on an NBA basketball court.

It didn’t take Simmons long to have an impact. Immediately off the tip, Simmons scored on a little floater in the lane thanks to a nice read by Fultz. Simmons scored before NBC Sports Philadelphia could even get their scoreboard graphic on the broadcast. 76ers fans, rejoice. This is your moment.

Simmons didn’t stop there. He quickly put his point guard skills on display with a nifty pass to cutting Fultz, and a half-court oop to Richaun Holmes. Yeah, the Ben Simmons point guard experiment is going just fine.

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Simmons would go on to finish the first quarter with 4 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds in 9 minutes. Yes, it’s the preseason, but it appears as though the process is paying off in Philadelphia.