This is silly....WHO would have taken any of those players ahead of Simmons in that draft???? There was no question who was going first. He was first on every board across the league.

Simmons was the consensus #1. It was THE Ben Simmons draft. He was projected with superstar potential. There's no denying his physical gifts and skill, he's a rare breed. His mental toughness and desire to improve and adjust is a different story though.

Either way, it's not like he was a total bust. He was a damn good player in Philly, just didn't improve and had a mental breakdown. In just 4 years he was ROY, 3x All-Star, 1x All-NBA, and 2x All-Defense 1st team. He also won a lot of games every season and helped turn the team around immediately his first season (led the most productive starting unit in the NBA that season).

This post was edited by Sixers on Aug 30 2023 09:20am

so what you sayin is the 76ers dun goofed? if I was a fan of that team I'd be pissed off that they botched the development of a potentially top 5 player. also they stood by allowing their HC and running mate trash him, meanwhile evading their accountability for the humiliating loss to Atlanta.

You can't always predict a players mindset after they're in the NBA. There were concerns before the draft, but he was simply too good to pass up. The pros outweighed the cons. It also didn't help that he was drafted to a tough city with fans and media who can sniff softness out and will eat you alive as a pro athlete.

And yes, we can absolutely pin that Hawks series on Simmons. In that series we saw Embiid play great while being triple teamed as Ben Simmons refused to even look at the rim or show any sort of aggression. It was sad, but it was the final straw for most (including myself) because he visibly quit on the team and was no longer even trying.