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Ben Simmons Has Been Named In The NBA's All-Defensive First Team And These Insane Highlights Prove Why

Ben Simmons Has Been Named In The NBA's All-Defensive First Team And These Insane Highlights Prove Why

Fans flocked to social media to praise the Aussie, but one user posted a pretty impressive highlights video of Simmons' defensive skills.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Ben Simmons has been named to the 2019-20 NBA All-Defensive First Team.

The 24-year-old Aussie lines up alongside fellow defensive powerhouses Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, and Marcus Smart.

That quartet is then joined by the newly-crowned Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo.


It's Simmons' first All-NBA defensive honour after receiving 88 votes.

Incredibly, Simmons' inclusion meant NBA defensive forces Kawhi Leonard, Patrick Beverley and Bam Adebayo could only make the All-Defensive Second Team.

That in itself is special.

Simmons locks up Jimmy Butler.
PA

And unsurprisingly, Australian supporters and basketball fans alike were quick to jump on social media to heap praise on he 6-foot-10-inch guard.

One Twitter user posted a two-minute highlights package of Simmons in action which shows just how deadly he was on the defensive side of the court for the Sixers.

And, well, let's just say he more than makes up for his lack of three-pointers.

Simmons, whose Philadelphia 76ers side was sent crashing out of the Playoffs by Boston, led the league in steals per game with an average of 2.1.

But his defensive dominance doesn't stop with the odd steal.

He also averaged 0.6 blocks per game while averaging a total of 5.8 defensive rebounds.

Simmons' inclusion meant Kawhi Leonard could only make the second team.
PA

And at the other end of the court he was just as efficient.

Simmons averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8 assists for the campaign - not bad for just his third season in the NBA.

Here's the 2019-2020 NBA All-Defensive teams!

First team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart, Ben Simmons

Second team: Bam Adebayo, Patrick Beverley, Eric Bledsoe, Kawhi Leonard, Brook Lopez

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Basketball, NBA, Ben Simmons, Twitter, Australia

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

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@maxysherry