James thinks so. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Ben Simmons is perhaps the closest thing to LeBron James that we’ve seen since, well, LeBron James. Apparently, James once told Simmons that the latter could surpass the former. From Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins:
“You have an opportunity,” James told Simmons early on, “to be better than me. But you can’t skip steps. You have to do the work.” Those words helped sustain him when he stumbled at LSU and helped fuel him as he rehabbed in Philadelphia. “Is this really going to happen?” he asked himself. He knew, even if others wavered, that it would. Because LeBron said so, and for a prospect of Simmons’s vintage, no endorsement means more. “Part of his greatness,” Simmons says, “is that he wants others to be just as great.”
This is sort of a funny story, given that James recently dismissed the Simmons comparisons, saying: “Ben is Ben, I am who I am.”
It is very unlikely that Simmons ends up better than James. Obviously, saying that is not a slight to Simmons but a testament to James’ greatness. Simmons is, however, absolutely incredible.
Despite impressive performances from first-year players like Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma and Donovan Mitchell, Simmons has the Rookie of the Year Award all but locked up, and he’s only played 19 games. That’s crazy.
Just 21 years old, Simmons is averaging 18.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game. Oh, and he’s also shooting over 50 percent from the field.
