Ben Simmons has declared for the 2016 NBA Draft after his lone season with the LSU Tigers. Here are five strong reasons that he should go No. 1 overall.
With the LSU Tigers not even opting to play in either the NIT or the CIT after failing to make the 2016 NCAA Tournament, LSU’s true freshman phenom Ben Simmons’ college career came to an end. Shortly after the Tigers chose to not play in the postseason tournament, the certain one-and-done from Australia made it official by signing with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports and plans to enter the 2016 NBA Draft after one season of college ball.
This was absolutely expected, as almost no incoming freshman since Kevin Durant played at Texas had the hype entering college since Simmons arrived in Baton Rouge. For nearly the entire 2015-16 NCAA season, Simmons was essentially a lock to be the No. 1 overall player taken in the 2016 NBA Draft.
However after a lackluster showing by both Simmons and the Tigers in the second half of their SEC slate of games, other players in the NCAA have begun to climb up draft boards, most notably Duke Blue Devils freshman Brandon Ingram and Oklahoma Sooners senior Buddy Hield.
While really only Ingram is challenging at the moment Simmons’ spot atop the NBA Draft board, here are five reasons that it makes perfect sense for the team that ends up winning the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery to end up taking Simmons with the No. 1 overall selection later on this summer.
Next: 5. So much untapped potential