By Liam McKeone
The Process has been going on for a long time in Philadelphia, but this season, it seems like it has finally come to fruition. The 76ers had four top-three picks in the last four years, and it’s resulted in the acquisition of their two franchise cornerstones in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Embiid is like if Hakeem Olajuwon could hit threes and knew what a meme was, so if he stays healthy, he’ll be the superstar everyone expected from The Process. But during the early parts of the 2017 season, Ben Simmons is putting everyone in the league on notice with his talents, and may end up being just as valuable as his Process counterpart in Embiid.
Way back when in 2010, when LeBron and the Heat were the villains of the NBA, the modern concept of the point forward was born. Erik Spolestra put LeBron at power forward and ran the offense through him. This seems like an obvious strategy, since you want the ball in the hands of your best player as often as possible, and LeBron is one of the three best players of all time. But it seemed genius at the time, if only because a player with the combination of size, speed and basketball smarts to play point forward are extremely rare. Simmons has emerged as one of these generational talents capable of running the offense while being bigger and faster than most of the players around him. He is the epitome of the point-forward era and may come to define it over the next decade.
Simmons stands at 6’10” and 230 pounds, so he has the size thing going for him. He’s also fast. Not as inhumanly fast as someone like LeBron, but faster than anyone that size has the right to be. He can handle the ball well with both hands, and while he won’t wow the crowd with his dribbling moves, they get the job done. What truly sets Simmons apart from his large counterparts around the league, and why he’s been lauded as a generational prospect since high school, is his vision. He’s been blessed with the ability to see two or three steps ahead of everyone else on the court, a talent that all-time great passers like LeBron, Magic, Kidd, and Bird possessed. He has the basketball IQ to run any offense and read the open floor like a general on the battlefield. He’ll always make the right read to drive to the basket or dish it off to a teammate, and at least once a game will make your jaw drop.
Simmons still has a ways to go on both ends of the floor. He’s not a great defensive player yet, and his complete inability to shoot outside of 15 feet will prove to be an issue if he doesn’t fix his jumpshot. But, even if it’s only November, Simmons has proved he’s been worth the hype while racking up a stat line of 18/9/7 (points/rebounds/assists) and leading the Rookie of the Year race by a mile. Head coach Brett Brown is running the offense through his young star, and it’s led the Sixers to a level of success they haven’t seen in years. Given, they’re only 11-7, but like I said, it’s best success they’ve seen in years. It’s been a tough few seasons for the Philadelphia faithful. Simmons is proving that this faith wasn’t wasted.
