Ben Simmons is known for being aggressive when he’s on the basketball court, and the Philadelphia 76ers star put that on display when he dunked on some kids at a charity basketball event in Australia on Wednesday. Simmons was in Melbourne for the Helping Hoops charity event and by the looks of the video, the kids loved getting dunked on by the NBA star.
Ben Simmons 📍 Melbourne, Australia at a kids camp w/ @helpinghoops. Sometimes you just gotta let these know 🤣. pic.twitter.com/Ubd4NpClVe
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 31, 2019
Helping Hoops is a charitable organization based in Melbourne and they help underprivileged kids through the game of basketball. Helping Hoops provides basketball programs for more than 1,000 kids and Simmons is a big fan of the organization as the Ben Simmons Family Foundation is listed on the Helping Hoops sites as one of the top supporters. Also, it helps that Simmons grew up in the area.
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The Sixers All-Star played high school ball in Australia before heading to Louisiana to play college ball at LSU. He spent one season with the Tigers and was named to the All-SEC First Team along with being named SEC Freshman of the Year. Simmons was also named a consensus first-team All-American and he received National Freshman of the Year award by the United States Basketball Association.
That led to the 76ers picking Simmons No. 1 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. However, he was not able to make an impact during the 2016-17 season as he suffered a serious foot injury in September. Simmons was able to bounce back in a big way the following season, averaging 15.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. That led to him being named to the All-NBA Rookie Team and NBA Rookie of the Year.
In 2019, Simmons took another step forward in his progression. In 79 regular-season games, the LSU alum recorded 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per contest. Simmons was named an All-Star midway through the season and the team finished third in the Eastern Conference standings.
When it comes down to it, Simmons is on his way to being a superstar in the NBA. And even though being dunked is not a good thing, the kids from Australia will always remember they got to take on the hometown hero.
