- Ben Simmons NBA exploits have been influenced by his background playing Australia home grown game.

Growing up in Melbourne, Simmons played Aussie rules football for Beverley Hills in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, and his former footy and basketball teammate, Demons player Christian Petracca, said the NBA Draft No.1 pick had all the skills to star in the AFL.

Ben Simmons is at the start of a career that could see him one day regarded as Australia’s finest sporting export. Yet his NBA exploits have been influenced by his background playing Australia’s home-grown game.



"He was an absolute freak. He could jump. He could run. He could kick. He honestly would've been a top-five draft pick had he stuck with football."

These AFL skills are not something Simmons is happy to leave consigned to the past, with Simmons reportedly showing teammate Joel Embiid how to handle a Sherrin at a recent Philadelphia 76ers training session.

More than just a skillset, the AFL background has helped Simmons to develop an attitude and fearlessness when it comes to playing basketball against bigger, more developed bodies.

Brown of course knows his way around an AFL oval better than most Americans, having spent time coaching in the NBL, as well as significant stints running the show for the Boomers.

The challenge for Brown now is to ensure Simmons’ talent sees his team become a consistently winning unit. At this stage, bookmakers Neds rate Philadelphia a $31.00 chance of this season’s NBA Eastern Conference. Neds have the Cleveland Cavaliers – led by LeBron James, the man to whom Simmons is consistently compared – as $1.80 favourites.

NBA Live Mobileis the most popular basketball simulation video game, developed and published by EA Sports for mobile phones. Franchised by National Basketball Association, the game features all authentic gameplay and roster and match schedule. Every player in the game exists in tradable form in the game. There’s Live Events, Head-to-Head competitions, Seasons, Leagues matches, Team Management, Set Collection, and Auction House.