Aussie basketball phenom Ben Simmons knows the NBA well enough to equal records set by Magic Johnson, even if the league may not be entirely familiar with his home country.
That’s something the 21-year-old intends to fix, judging by a tasteful Powerpoint presentation delivered this morning to his Philadelphia 76ers teammates.
It’s been revealed that Simmons chose to educate the squad on his Antipodean home during the team’s breakfast, and some glorious shots of the event show the forward addressed our nation’s unique geography and wildlife.
Specifically, he showed ’em that video of a bloke throwing hands with a fully-grown kangaroo. Lord knows Robert Covington got a kick out of it.
As is tradition at team breakfasts, a player gives a presentation on a topic of their choosing.
This morning, @BenSimmons25 educated his teammates on Australia pic.twitter.com/mrzElZJC1a
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 27, 2018
Currently unknown: if Simmons also gave the crew a taste of his hometown heroes Silverchair. We can only hope.
While it seems random to have a team member give a presentation on a topic of their choosing at the squad’s periodic team breakfasts, it’s actually part of coach Brett Brown‘s holistic approach to player development and team integration.
Describing the presentations in January, Brown said “it will be like they’re in school and they have a project,” adding “it’s informative. It goes for probably 20 minutes.”
For his presentation, Gerald Henderson gave a speech on Charles Manson. Jahlil Okafor addressed the issue of paying college athletes for their efforts. Croatian player Dario Saric even educated his teammates on Croatia’s civil war.
The team’s focus on cohesion appears to be paying off. The Philadelphia 76ers notched their first NBA playoff spot since 2012 over the weekend, and after discovering that one bloke’s gutsy defence against the roo, it feels pretty likely they’ll go all the way.
