- Ben Simmons finally made his long-awaited NBA regular-season debut against the Wizards in Washington on Wednesday night. And after his extended wait to wear the Philadelphia 76ers jersey in a meaningful game, he said he felt initially like he was in a video game.
"It felt like I was playing 2K, honestly," Simmons said postgame.
"Just looking at Joel Embiid out there with the lights on his jersey. I was like, 'man, I'm actually here.'"
Simmons was drafted with the first overall pick by the Sixers in the 2016 draft, but he missed the entire 2016-17 season while recovering from foot surgery to repair a Jones fracture. He suffered the injury on Sept. 30, 2016, less than a month before the start of the regular season. The Australian was originally expected to miss three months, but was eventually ruled out for the entire season.
Simmons has said he's at 100 percent now, and it showed against Washington. He displayed no signs of first-game jitters as he finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the 120-115 loss. He played with a seasoned poise, not forcing anything, letting the game come to him, and looking to set up teammates.
"I was using my size and speed to my advantage, and I think I did a good job at that," he said. "I could have done it a few more times, maybe we would have won, but we're gonna get there. It would have been better if we got the win, but it's the first game. We have many more to go."
Sixers coach Brett Brown was thoroughly impressed with Simmons' debut effort, pointing out that the Aussie had just one turnover in 35 minutes of playing time.
"How about Ben Simmons' first game in the NBA?" Brown said.
"Really, there were times he could have finished even more. I feel that his first game was really exceptional. Really, really exceptional. Physically, we all see what he is as an athlete, and I think that his growth path, his improvement scale, can be off the charts."
