National Basketball Association

Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons Has Been Honing His Craft

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Philadelphia 76ers training camp starts tomorrow and Ben Simmons has been in the gym – a lot. The rest of the League should take notice.

With just 30 days until the Philadelphia 76ers start their 2016 campaign, Sixers fans anxiously await the start of training camp and the NBA preseason. This is when fans will have a real opportunity to see how their team will look for the upcoming season. The city of Philadelphia is finally going to be able to see Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid materialize together.

Joel Embiid’s work ethic has been very public for the past two seasons and news of his “gym rat” personality and focus has spread wildly this offseason. But what about the other guy that Sixers fans are anxious to watch? You know, the guy they drafted number one overall back in June.

The word is out that Ben Simmons has been constantly in the gym working on all parts of his game and the NBA should take notice. In recent interviews on Media Day, Simmons told reporters “I can shoot the ball.” For more on Media Day and Simmons’ interview you can read that here, but what was more impressive to me is how much muscle Simmons has added this off-season.

According to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN, Simmons is now up to 250 lbs. He was listed at 225 lbs most recently while playing for the LSU Tigers last season.

It is very encouraging to see Ben Simmons get right to work in Philadelphia and we wouldn’t expect anything less of him. With his added muscle, this will make it harder for smaller forwards to be able to stop him from driving to the basket, especially considering he is still very quick for his size.

Mazzeo also reported that Simmons had this to say when asked about the LeBron James comparisons and Hall of Fame potential: “Potential is a word that can go up and down. I have to put in the work.”

Put in the work, indeed. If Simmons can shoot the ball as he says, he is going to be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Add that with his determination and drive to be great and the kid is going to be just fine.