The Philadelphia 76ers Selecting Ben Simmons Saga

Ben’s Birth

Ben Simmons was born in the land of extremes on July 20, 1996.   He is the son of American basketball player David Simmons, and of an Australian mother Julie.  July 20 seems to be a birth date of achievement, as Ben Simmons was born on the same date as Sir Edmund Hillary – first to reach the top of Mount Everest, as well as Carlos Santana- one of the true great rock guitarists of our time.

When his mother Julie Simmons found out she was pregnant in November 1995, she was overjoyed – and surprised. She and Dave, her second husband, had been trying for a long time to conceive a sibling for their daughter, Olivia. Julie had four children from her previous marriage. This was her last chance.

“His (David Simmon’s) son (Ben) is finesse and a 3 (small forward), 1 (point guard), 4 (power forward). Really different.”-Brett Brown

The contractions started on July 20, 1996, midway through the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Atlanta. In her room at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s hospital, Dave switched on the telly to watch his Melbourne Tigers teammates Andrew Gaze and Mark Bradtke march past in the parade. A doctor was supposed to be examining Julie, but his attention drifted, too.

"“Nothing’s happening. We almost had forgotten she was there,” Dave recalls. “They had a big sign [at the ceremony] saying, ‘How y’all doin’?’ and Julie looked up and screamed, ‘I’ll tell you how I’m doing. I’m trying to have a baby.’ ”"

Benjamin David Simmons weighed 3.5 kilograms. His parents took the timing of his arrival as a sign, although of what they weren’t sure.  But Ben’s destiny was already determined, and that sign simply stood to alert his parents of that fact.

Ben would grow up athletic and would love sports, particularly basketball.  His father was Dave Simmons was a legend in Australia’s National Basketball League. But David did not travel to Australia initially.

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