The NBA Draft is tomorrow night in New York City, and it’ll likely be one of the more essential drafts of the last decade. LSU standout Ben Simmons, thought to be a once-in-a-generation talent and the heir to LeBron James‘ throne, is up for grabs, as is Duke’s sweet shooter Brandon Ingram, Ohio State’s multi-faceted monster Buddy Hield and a host of other players that could change a franchise’s trajectory almost immediately. Naturally, all eyes have been on Simmons, who many believed would be the #1 pick for much of the season until Duke’s Ingram emerged as a viable threat.
That threat seems to have been eliminated today, as ESPN is reporting that they’ve confirmed with several sources that the Philadelphia 76ers have confirmed with Ben Simmons that he’ll be selected with the first overall pick on Thursday night. Last year, the Sixers picked up Duke’s standout big man Jahlil Okafor, who had a sensational rookie campaign with the team. Okafor and Simmons could potentially form one of the more daunting 1-2 punches in the league for years to come, not to mention the other two promising players Philadelphia has picked up in recent drafts, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid who could see his first action this season after losing the first two years of his career to injury.
To make matters more intriguing, Simmons posted the following to his Instagram not too long ago, with a caption that’s either cryptic or telling, depending on how you look at it.
Either way, two nights from now, we’ll know the real deal.
