Friday night marked a special moment in the Association, as Philadelphia 76ers rookie point forward Ben Simmons made NBA history.
The Aussie made headlines early in the game when he had his jersey ripped right off his chest (watch). But that wasn’t the big highlight.
He finished the game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, marking his second career triple-double in just nine games. He also had three steals and three blocks, which put him in a league of his own as far as young NBA players go, historically.
Only Oscar Robinson has achieved two triple-doubles in his first nine games.
https://twitter.com/DidTheSixersWin/status/926652606189105154
No rookie in history has had a triple-double while also tallying three steals and three blocks.
No rookie ever recorded a 14-11-10-3-3 game.
Only Chris Webber ever did it in his 1st Two seasons.@BenSimmons25 did it in his 9th NBA game— Eran Soroka (@sorokman) November 4, 2017
We look at LeBron James as the prototype in this day and age to try and compare big men who can pass. Yet it took James quite a bit longer than Simmons to hit his second triple-double.
Here’s a look at some other players you’ll recognize who needed quite a bit more time to make this kind of impact.
Career games needed to achieve two triple doubles:
Ben Simmons: 9
Michael Jordan: 58
Jason Kidd: 69
LeBron James: 118
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) November 4, 2017
The best part here is that Simmons and the Sixers have now won four games in a row and five out of their last six to improve to 5-4 on the season. This is the potential for greatness that 76ers fans have been dreaming about since The Process began. Perhaps now it’s finally coming to fruition.
Now, if only Markelle Fultz can get healthy, this team has a chance to really become something special.