The NBA debut of Ben Simmons, the overall number 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft, will have to be postponed, as the highly anticipated prospect has suffered a foot injury that will keep him out of action for three months.
The number rookie pick from Louisiana State University, Simmons, rolled his right ankle on the last day of training camp of the Philadelphia 76ers, breaking a bone in the process, prior to the NBA pre-season game. According to Yahoo! Sports, Simmons is set to have surgery to repair his broken foot and would be out of action until the end of the year.
A Tweet from ESPN's Jeff Goodman also suggests that the young Australian forward will likely miss a huge chunk of the early season, as he will most probably not be able to play until January. Simmons would have to go through therapy, following the surgical repair on his foot, as the 76ers are looking to be very cautious in handling the health of their top pick.
This puts the 76ers in a familiar spot as another one of their top picks from the NBA Draft are met with foot issues, much like their 2014 top pick, Joel Embiid. Embiid, who will make his NBA debut three years after being drafted, also battled injuries before getting the chance to play.
Simmons' foot injury also means that he might not get the NBA Rookie of the Year award, as he is projected to miss out on plenty of games. This gives the other top rookies a chance at the award, with the likes of Ben Ingram of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kris Dunn of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dragan Bender of the Phoenix Suns, and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, all ready to make a statement and their claim to the Rookie trophy, according to Forbes.
