NBA: Ben Simmons was well worth the wait

The Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Michigan to take on the Detroit Pistons in a battle of two teams that expect to be in the playoffs when April rolls around. While the game was extremely entertaining, and the brand new Little Caesars Arena was captivating, the Sixers’ Ben Simmons was the real show. After sitting out all of last year with a nagging leg injury, the 2016 NBA Draft’s No. 1 pick made his debut last week against the Washington Wizards on opening night.

He immediately put his potential on full display, going for 18 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Not good enough? Two games later, against the Toronto Raptors, he went for another 18 points, 10 boards, and eight assists. It’s been a great start to his career, and that came to fruition on Monday night against the Pistons. From the tip-off, he was in complete control. After notching 10 first quarter points, he started spreading the ball around, picking up assist after assist.

During the second quarter, the 76ers led by as much as 21 points, and it was mainly because of the rookie guard. The second half was just as, if not more impressive. Simmons continued to play his game and that’s what will be key going forward. He is one of the most patient players I’ve ever seen and will need to continue to pick the correct spots to attack. On several occasions, he’d get a rebound and be able push the ball up the floor at an elite pace.

At 6'10 and 240 pounds, Simmons is anything but the prototypical point guard but he has the ability to continue to change the lead guard position. Simmons and Joel Embiid have created quite the duo, as Embiid dropped 30 points on 15 shot attempts in 28 minutes. For such a young age, both Simmons and Embiid are incredibly efficient, which is something that usually takes a while to happen. They combined to put up 51 points and 21 rebounds on 73.1% from the field.

Even though we had to wait more than an entire season since he was drafted way back in 2016 out of LSU, Simmons has been worth it. He's averaging 17.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, recorded his first career triple-double against the Pistons with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. He became the third player ever (Oscar Robertson and Hambone Williams) and first since 1967 to record a triple-double in their first four games. And Simmons is only 21-years-old.

Photo Credit: NBC Sports.