Ben Simmons Will Pave His Own Route to Success in the NBA

Despite garnering some flattering comparisons to past and current NBA players, Ben Simmons is going to pave his own route in the NBA to success with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Ben Simmons has yet to play a single regular season game in the NBA, but has already been receiving a lot of comparisons to past and current NBA players. Many of those comparisons are flattering and positive for Simmons, and show just how bright his — and subsequently, the Philadelphia 76ers — future is, but above all, Simmons is going to prove in the NBA that he’s not a reincarnation or a mirror of one NBA player, he is his own person.

Really, that’s what we all generally want in life, right? Looking back on careers, legacies, and our lives, we want to be able to say we did something and were known for something unique and something that’s specific to us individually. It’s no different for most NBA players, and it’s certainly no different for a top overall pick in the NBA.

The comparisons put a lot of pressure on Simmons. He’s gathered comparisons to some recent players who are of All-Star caliber — Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James for his ability to control the game with authority — but also a past player — Magic Johnson — for his finish around the rim play style and his height despite playing as a guard.

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Heck, Simmons’ own coach, fellow Aussie Brett Brown, compared Simmons to the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Johnson himself. It’s not just outsiders who see the comparisons to great players.

Simmons possesses the good qualities of those players, and that’s why he’s often compared to them. Should he be flattered? Without a doubt, Simmons is set up to be the paragon of his generation of NBA athletes with the comparisons that are coming his way. And catching comparisons like this before ever even playing an NBA game is a big deal, don’t misinterpret the point.

Still, there’s a proverbial wide open door for Simmons to control his own destiny and make his own mark on the game. Simmons doesn’t want to retire being known as the “second LeBron” or the “runner-up to Giannis.”

Heck, Simmons probably doesn’t even want to be known as the “better” version of either of those players either, as incredible of an accomplishment that would be.

Simmons, throughout his career, may prove to have some qualities that are better than those two players. Simmons may prove to be a better team player than LeBron ever had the vision to be, and may prove to be stronger, more dominant, and more assertive than Giannis currently has been with the Bucks (although the climax of his career has still yet to come forth).

Looking at past top overall picks, and the ones that played out to be known as successes, they are all known as players that can hold their own and say they owned a specific niche in the NBA. Look at LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, they all retired or will retire leaving behind legacies of doing great things in the NBA, not cloning players before them.

Simmons has already begun to set himself apart from his peers. His draft class has largely turned out to be — at least in their first season, there is plenty of time for the narrative surrounding the 2016 NBA Draft class to change — players that haven’t quite lived up to the expectations set for them, which were low to begin with. The two best rookies in the NBA are players that weren’t even drafted with this year’s draft class (Joel Embiid and Dario Saric).

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The talent gap between Simmons and No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram is huge, and that’s been decided by most people without Simmons ever even playing a real NBA game.

So, if Simmons isn’t going to conform to the comparisons that have been set on him by analysts, fans, and people who think they know Simmons, what is his legacy going to be?

There’s already questions about Simmons over whether or not he can play as a true point guard without much of a jump-shot. There’s already questions over whether or not he can guard other smaller point guards in the league that might be quicker than him.

Simmons might attack those doubts and try to prove people wrong about him playing the point, but only time will tell what role fits Simmons best in the NBA. As a player with a solid base skill set and a really versatile function to his game, there’s a lot he can potentially do.

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Looking at other players around the league who were able to really pave their own route and make their own legacies in the NBA, he’s already in the company of them, having made relationship connections and worked out with some of the NBA’s best. Over the summer it was public that Simmons was working out with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Looking around the league as well, much of the excitement about new, young talent is with the “unicorns” in the NBA — the big men who can do more than play in the post. These big men can hit 3-point shots when they need to, and can handle the ball better than most other big men.

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Simmons, as a forward, doesn’t fit into that. He’s not a big man, and for that reason, he may be able to prove himself and get people excited more. There’s already a fair share of young big men in the NBA that can hit long shots in Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid, and Kristaps Porzingis. There’s not a whole lot of players out there that are like Ben Simmons, as the closest players is probably Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The path is wide open for a player such as Simmons to make his mark on the NBA. All he has to do is supply the pavement.