The Sixer Sense
Fansided

The Philadelphia 76ers Selecting Ben Simmons Saga

By Bret Stuter

Mar 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; LSU freshman Ben Simmons (right) sits in the front row during a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; LSU freshman Ben Simmons (right) sits in the front row during a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 12, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) controls the ball in the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC conference tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) controls the ball in the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC conference tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Some things were destined to be, and the Philadelphia 76ers selecting Ben Simmons in the 2016 NBA Draft is one such tale.

The Outback. Not the restaurant, the nickname of one of the seven continents of the planet. Australia is a land that is both frightening and amazing to many Americans – charmed by her natural beauty, unique wildlife, and mysterious accent of the English language.  But there is the terrible side of Australia too – the wildlife and insects which seem to be the convention site of the strangest and deadliest animals and bugs to humans on the planet.

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The positives and the negatives in Australia are extreme.  But it’s not just the environment.  Australia has the reputation of being the epitome of the “work hard, play hard” culture.  Swim with Great White Sharks, fish around man-eating crocodiles, hike across some of the most barren and treacherous terrain, all seem to require a trip to the “Land Down Under” to get the full flavor.

So too, it seems that work hard play hard happens on the basketball court.  Or at least for Ben Simmons.  He is the 6’10” forward who has the basketball moves of a point guard.  It makes sense when you know his story, a story of a young man who arrived to this world at the most unique time for an athlete, to an incredible family, and to a path that seems to have been laid before him years before he ever took his first breath on this planet.

The saga of Ben Simmons is a good story, a story worth telling.

His story, first told by Andrew Purcell of The Sidney Morning Herald, is worth telling, and retelling. And so, here I am, finding myself bumping the story of the young man who will be selected first in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Next: Ben's Birth