Philadelphia 76ers point guard Benjamin David Simmons was selected first overall in the
2016 NBA Draft.
EverythingTop10 is proud to present, “The Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ben
Simmons!”
#10.
Simmons was born in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, to American-born father Dave Simmons
and Australian mother Julie.
When his parents met in 1991, Julie was a divorced single mother with four children—Melissa,
Emily, Liam, and Sean.
After marrying Dave in 1994, she had two more kids, Olivia and Ben.
The six children have two different biological fathers, and their age span is 15 years (Melissa
to Ben), but were raised as if they were full siblings.
#9.
His father played college basketball for Oklahoma City University before turning professional
with the Melbourne Tigers in Australia’s National Basketball League in 1989, and later
becoming a naturalized citizen.
Simmons was raised in Newcastle from the age of 18 months, while his father played and
coached in the city.
He began playing basketball at the age of seven in the Newcastle Hunters’ under-12
representative team and played two more years for Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.
#8.
While in Newcastle, Simmons also played junior rugby.
At age 10, he returned to Melbourne and began playing junior basketball for the Knox Raiders.
Along with basketball, he also played Australian rules football at the junior level for the
Beverly Hills Junior Football Club and won a number of team and league awards.
#7.
As a teenager, he was torn between his two loves of basketball and Australian rules football,
but eventually decided to focus on basketball.
He later revealed it was his football coach’s decision to play him in the position of ruckman
that swayed his decision to pursue basketball; he wanted to “play forward and kick goals”
instead.
He claims to continue to support the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League,
and describes the sport as “an amazing game.”
#6.
In January 2013, Simmons moved to the U.S. to compete against boys of comparable size
and athleticism.
He attended Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, where he immediately started playing.
On November 12, 2014, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball
for Louisiana State University (LSU).
He was considered a five-star recruit and was listed as the No. 1 power forward and
the No. 1 player in the nation in 2015.
#5.
On January 5, 2016, he was dubbed the best all-around player since LeBron James by NBA
Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
On February 20, 2016, he came off the bench for the first time after being removed from
LSU’s starting lineup for their game against Tennessee due to academic reasons.
On March 21, 2016, he declared for the 2016 NBA Draft, forgoing his final three years
of college eligibility.
He withdrew from LSU at the conclusion of the season with plans to move immediately
to Phoenix, Arizona in advance of the NBA Draft.
#4.
When Simmons was selected by the 76ers, he became the third Melbourne-born number one
overall pick in 11 years (Andrew Bogut in 2005 and Kyrie Irving in 2011).
He was also the first college player in the modern era to be selected with the first overall
pick despite never playing in the NCAA Tournament.
In October 2017, he made clear his intentions to represent Australia at the 2020 Summer
Olympics in Tokyo.
#3.
His brother Liam is an assistant coach for the Southwest Baptist Bearcats men’s basketball
team.
His sister Emily, a former member of the Washington State University women’s rowing team, is
the wife of former NFL running back Michael Bush.
His godfather, David Patrick, was an assistant coach at LSU and was part of his sole season
there.
A cousin of his, who had attended the 2016 NBA Draft, was killed in a hit-and-run during
the early hours of June 25, 2016 in New Jersey.
In November 2016, he was featured in the Showtime documentary film “One & Done”, providing
an insight into his time as a one-and-done college player, as well as exploring his and
his family’s thoughts on the NCAA and the NBA’s “one and done” rule.
#2.
Simmons reportedly began dating singer-songwriter Tinashe in November 2017.
The couple remained together through April 2018.
He became linked to Kendall Jenner in May 2018 when the two were spotted out having
a lunch date at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
On June 27, 2018, it was reported that the two were living with each other in a $25,000-a-month
rental house in Los Angeles.
The couple called off their relationship in August 2018, but they got back together three
months later in November.
Their relationship has become very serious, and they love spending as much time as possible
together.
#1.
He likes listening to opera music.
He has a pet bearded dragon named Mutombo.
His pet is named after NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo.
His first pet was his golden retriever, and he got him when he was seven years old.
He also had a pet rat as well.
He is childhood friends with Utah Jazz point guard Dante Exum.
They have known each other since Simmons was seven years old.
Their fathers briefly played together on the Melbourne Tigers.
He said in 2012 that his favorite NBA teams are the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks.
Former president Obama once compared him to Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant.
When he came fresh out of high school, he played James Harden in a 1-on-1 and held his
own.
His favorite shoes are the “LeBron Zoom Soldiers.”
He considers LeBron a mentor and calls and texts him if there is ever something he needs
to know.
In September 2018, NBC picked up a scripted comedy based on Simmons’ life called “Brotherly
Love.”
When he was recovering from injury a few months after being drafted, he would binge-watch
episodes of “South Park” and play “Call of Duty” for many hours.
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