Ben Simmons, the Kia Rookie of the Year, is back in his native Australia and had much to say, it seems. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in Australia, he revealed his disappointment in not getting LeBron James to the Sixers in free agency while also pushing back on his critics (who say he should shoot right handed instead of his left).
The 22-year old said he was “a little bit” disappointed that James chose the Lakers over the Sixers in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
“It would have been great to learn from him and compete for a championship,” Simmons said in a video clip posted by the newspaper’s Twitter account.
"It would have been great to learn from him and compete for a championship."@BenSimmons25 on LeBron James not going the 76ers @NBA2K pic.twitter.com/cwbwHNrFeO
— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) August 17, 2018
The 6-foot-10 point forward challenged his critics who said he lacked a consistent jumper. In 2017-18, Simmons was 84-for-250 on attempts eight to 16 feet from the rim and failed to make a 3-pointer.
When we asked Aussie @NBA superstar @BenSimmons25 about critics of his jump shot, he was quick to remind them of some OTHER features of his game.. 😏️🏀🔥
STORY: https://t.co/565G0rWCcZ pic.twitter.com/uVKRA6BKns— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) August 19, 2018
The 76ers finished last season at 50-32 and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, losing to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Simmons averaged 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 81 regular-season games. He also averaged 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists in 10 playoff games.
