Out of all the pleasant surprises we’ve seen so far this young NBA season, the play of Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons has been one of the most noteworthy occurrences. After spending years as a bottomfeeder in the East, the Sixers have some life to them this year and that can be greatly attributed to Simmons and fellow young stud Joel Embiid.
Though Simmons is 100% committed to improving his game and making sure the 76ers reach their fullest potential, the LSU product also has his eyes towards something specific in the future: the 2020 Summer Olympics. According to Philly Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, Simmons hopes to play for his home country of Australia during those Olympic games.
Ben Simmons hopes to play for his native Australia in th next Olympics
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) November 3, 2017
Obviously now living his professional life in the United States, Ben Simmons would still rather suit up for his home country, not that he has a choice. With the 21-year-old already having played internationally for Australia in the past, that country would be his only option if he wished to participate in any future Olympic games.
Similar to Simmons, Celtics guard Kyrie Irving was also native to Australia but he opted to instead represent the United States in international play.
With how scary Simmons has looked in just 9 short games this season, he could be downright terrifying by the time the Olympics roll around 3 years from now. The point-forward phenom has already tallied 2 triple doubles in his young career and is posting per-game averages of 18 points while corralling 9.8 rebounds and dishing out 8.2 assists.
