LeBron James On LSU’s Ben Simmons: ‘He’s A Great Young Talent’

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 NBA Draft is only a few days away with Ben Simmons out of LSU expected to be the number one overall pick. The Philadelphia 76ers will likely draft Simmons with the top pick and might bringing in one of the best young talents since superstar LeBron James came into the league in 2003.

With LeBron still battling it out with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, the two-time champion was recently asked about Simmons and said the following about the 19-year-old, via Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk:

“I think he’s a great young talent,” LeBron said Saturday, on the eve of Game 7 of the NBA Finals. “I think the way he displays on the basketball court, we all notice. I think we all don’t know just yet how great of a kid he is and how down to earth he is with the game of basketball and life in general.”

James also talked about spending some time with Simmons and his family over the past few years. LeBron claims he’s been a mentor for the projected number one overall pick, via Helin:

“I had an opportunity to spend a lot of time over the last couple years with him and his family. They’re just so very appreciative of the opportunity that they’ve been given as a family. Also, they give everything to their son. They want the best for him. And as a mentor to him and big brother to him, I also give him a lot of advice on what to expect when he makes his jump next week, how to handle it. But he also has to figure it out on his own as well because everybody’s path is different.”

Although it is not set in stone that Simmons will go number one, there’s a good chance he’ll be bound for Philadelphia on June 23. Duke’s Brandon Ingram is also in the mix for the top pick on draft day next week with Philadelphia potentially surprising everyone by going with the player that may be more adapt for the way the game is played today.

Ingram is the better shooter and while Simmons may be the better all-around prospect in the same way LeBron was back in 2003. It’ll be interesting to see how it all goes down next week, but it’s safe to assume Simmons will be wearing a Sixers jersey for the foreseeable future.