Ben Simmons made his long-awaited NBA regular season debut Wednesday night, and said he felt like he was playing in a video game.
My latest @ESPNAusNZ from Washington: @BenSimmons25 says his regular season debut “felt like I was playing 2K.” https://t.co/UauBpP3fiF
— Nick Metallinos (@NickMetallinos) October 19, 2017
Despite Simmons’ big night—18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists—the Philadelphia Sixers fell 120-115 on the road against Washington.
John Wall led the Wizards with 28 points on 10-of-28 shooting, and added eight assists.
Per ESPN:
“It felt like I was playing 2K, honestly,” Simmons said postgame.
“Just looking at Joel Embiid out there with the lights on his jersey. I was like, ‘man, I’m actually here.'”
Sixers coach Brett Brown was thoroughly impressed with Simmons’ debut effort, pointing out that the Aussie had just one turnover in 35 minutes of playing time.
“How about Ben Simmons’ first game in the NBA?” Brown said.”Really, there were times he could have finished even more. I feel that his first game was really exceptional. Really, really exceptional. Physically, we all see what he is as an athlete, and I think that his growth path, his improvement scale, can be off the charts.”
