How Ben Simmons is making such an impact in the NBA | Chris De Silva

The Australian enters the league in an era when players with his shooting deficiencies rarely thrive, but he is bucking the trend

Before Ben Simmons played a single minute of NBA basketball, the comparisons were startling: the young Australian was being talked of as the next LeBron James, Magic Johnson or Oscar Robertson.

In today’s NBA, where many top prospects enter the league with just a solitary year of college basketball, such heady comparisons can often be a death knell. Yet for the special few, the pressure allows them to thrive.

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