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| Ben Simmons has been settling into Baton Rouge life. Photograph: Kelly Kline/Getty Images |
The pair share many similarities. Both were born in Melbourne to American fathers whose pursuit of the basketball dream led them to Australia, where they became team-mates at the Melbourne Tigers. Exum and Simmons both spent time at the Australian Institute of Sport, a national basketball academy, while each possesses a not dissimilar mix of envious physical attributes.
There is, though, one stark difference: Simmons will never be an ‘international man of mystery’. Unlike his friend, a largely unknown quantity when he was drafted at No 5 in 2014, Simmons will have been scrutinised from every angle by the time he nominates for the NBA.
At present, these assessments points to one thing: Simmons being the most sought after player at the draft’s 2016 edition.
The 19-year-old’s rare combination of size, speed and ball-handling has scouts salivating, and a quick look at the innumerable highlight compilations on YouTube provide ample justification. Despite standing at 6ft 10in, Simmons is as confident running the floor or leading transition play as he is finishing under the basket – Sports Illustrated aptly described him as a “point center”.
The list of accolades earned by Simmons is similarly impressive: in 2015 he was Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Prep Player of the Year and starred in the McDonald’s All-American game. With past Naismith winners including LeBron James and Kevin Love, Simmons is already in rarefied company.
But the path from high school awards to NBA success is littered with pitfalls, and Simmons is aware of the challenges ahead. While he defiantly declares: “I definitely want to be the No 1 pick – I’m always going to back myself over someone else,” he quickly acknowledges that “there is lots of work to do and much more pressure to come.”
Pressure – whether from the team, media, fans, or within – is a difficult beast. Chatting to the Guardian not long after being drafted, Simmons’ friend Exum looked slightly jaded, and spoke candidly about the intense media spotlight. Although Simmons has had a longer adjustment period, thanks to his decision to play on the American school circuit rather than remain at the less-visible Australian Institute of Sport, he admits to having mixed feelings about dealing with the hype.
“It gets easier day-by-day, but it becomes harder long term: the better you get, the more attention that is focused on you,” Simmons observes. “I’m fine with it, though: it’s all part of the experience.”
One factor keeping Simmons firmly rooted is his strong family network. As the youngest of six children and with an ex-professional providing fatherly guidance, Simmons has an effective barrier against an over-inflated ego. His godfather and now assistant coach at LSU, David Patrick, joked recently that “at home, he’s ranked nothing,” and Simmons shares this sentiment.
“I’m just Ben at the end of the day,” he laughs. “My family have always been there to support me – they have never put me on a pedestal and said I was this or that. Whenever I’m with them, I’m back to being the youngest in the family.”
Simmons also enjoys the support of a broader network at LSU, including alumnus Shaquille O’Neal. The four-time NBA champion described the college’s new recruit as “the best player in the world”, and even had time to pass on his best wishes via telephone.
“I spoke with him for a few minutes on the day I signed,” explains Simmons. “He just said congratulations and welcomed me to the family. It is awesome to know that he’s always there for me to ask questions.”
Having now officially joined LSU – almost nine months after he put pen to paper and took O’Neal’s call – Simmons has been busy settling into Baton Rouge life. In between summer school: “I have been taking kinesiology [the study of human movement], but I would like to major in sports management”, a controversial new marketing campaign and training sessions, Simmons has been preparing his colleagues for their pre-season visit to Australia (they departed last week).
“The team is looking great: we are still building up chemistry, but by the time we leave we will be ready to play,” he says. “I have been telling my team-mates about Australia every day! I haven’t been back in a year, so am really excited.”
Simmons does not, however, harbor particularly fond memories of his last trip home. After training with Australia’s national team before the Fiba World Cup, he was a surprise omission from the final Boomers squad. Asked whether he put this disappointment to good effect, Simmons responds bluntly.
“I did not really use it as motivation because I felt like I should have been on the team – I didn’t have any doubts about it,” he declares. “I walked away knowing that I was definitely a good player, but I had to focus on my next step. I just kept playing and working on my game.”
Despite this sour experience, Simmons retains a desire to play for the national team, perhaps as early as next year in Rio de Janeiro. With an exciting mix of young talent and a collection of experienced NBA regulars, the Boomers could mount a serious challenge to perennial favourites USA.
“Playing at the Olympics has always been a dream of mine,” Simmons admits. “But as soon as college finishes I might be focusing on the draft, or if not another season at LSU – so I have to take it one day at a time. But I would definitely go to the Olympics if I was healthy and fresh enough to perform.”
If Simmons is available and selected, one likely team-mate in Brazil will be the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Matthew Dellavedova. The pair trained together during last year’s pre-World Cup camp, before Dellavedova had burst into the collective consciousness, and Simmons speaks glowingly of Australian basketball’s man of the moment.
“It is always good to train with someone of his calibre,” he notes. “It has been great to see him succeed and compete with the top players. For him to get to the level and do really well is just awesome.”
Rewind a further year to 2013, and Dellavedova was without a club after going undrafted, Exum was still at school, and the hype surrounding Simmons had only just begun to surface. In a small arena in Canberra, all three shared the floor in a game against New Zealand, only days following Exum and Simmons’ national team debut. That fixture may have seemed inconsequential at the time, but it represented a major step as the duo sought to fulfil a shared basketball dream.
As kids, Exum and Simmons would often discuss their aspirations of playing professionally. Yet even these two self-assured and confident young men could not possibly have predicted the progress each would make towards basketball stardom.
“We have always talked about playing in the NBA, and now I just have to do my part,” says Simmons. “Playing against Dante – or with him – would be amazing.”
