Former Tiger Ben Simmons Named To All-NBA Rookie First Team

by Staff Reporter

May 23, 20180 Comments

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Former LSU and current Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons was one of two players unanimously selected to the 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team this week.

Simmons along Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell received first-place votes on all 100 ballots from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Simmons, Mitchel and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum are the three finalists for the NBA Rookie of the Year award.Per LSUSports.net:

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Simmons averaged 15.8 points per game, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.73 steals a game. Simmons joined Oscar Robertson (1960-61) as the only rookies in NBA history to average at least 15.0 points, 8.0 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game. A four-time Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, the Australian native led rookies in rebounding, assists and steals average while helping the 76ers (52-30) finish with the third-best record in the East.

In his one season at LSU (2015-16), Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.79 assists per game in earning the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year award from the United States Basketball Writers Association. Simmons was a first-team All-America selection by the USBWA and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.