Ben Simmons was selected No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday at Barclays Center.
The 76ers’ plan to draft Simmons was among the worst-kept secrets in basketball in the weeks ahead of the draft as Philadelphia looks to complete its rebuild. The team will hope for an immediate impact from Simmons after his only season at LSU, where he averaged 19.2 points per game, shooting 56 percent from the field and 33 percent from three-point range.
A native of Australia, Simmons will play for former Australian national team coach Brett Brown in Philadelphia. He is the fourth straight international player to be taken first overall, following in the footsteps of Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic), Andrew Wiggins (Canada) and Anthony Bennett (Canada).
The versatile forward joins a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011-12. Philadelphia won only 47 games in the last three seasons combined, finishing among the bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference in each of those seasons.
With the No. 2 pick, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Duke forward Brandon Ingram.
..... - Newsday