Mavs’ Rick Carlisle says 76ers rookie Ben Simmons ‘way better than expected’

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, Ben Simmons gave the fans of the Philadelphia 76ers a lot to be excited about with everyone thinking he’d be the next LeBron James. Unfortunately, Simmons didn’t play a single game in what was supposed to be his rookie season and only now do the 76ers know what they have in the LSU product.

Simmons has played six games thus far in his rookie campaign, and he’s already turning a lot of heads around the NBA. One of those heads is head coach Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks who got to see him firsthand recently. Carlisle knew Simmons would be good, but not this good, via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

Rick Carlisle on Ben Simmons (23 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists): "Everybody knew he was gonna be good, but he's way better than expected."

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) October 29, 2017

Throughout his first six games, Simmons is putting up some solid numbers. The Australian is averaging 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.7 assists per game. It may be safe to say the former Tigers star is the front-runner for NBA Rookie of the Year.

Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers has made an impression early this year, but he hasn’t been as consistent as Simmons up to this point. It’ll be interesting to see how things pan for Simmons as he is quickly becoming a star in Philadelphia alongside teammate Joel Embiid.

At this point, it seems as though the ROY voting will come down to Simmons, Ball, Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics), and Dennis Smith Jr. (Mavericks). These four players could make things interesting moving forward.