Here it is, mates! Ben Simmons, born in Fitzroy, raised in Newcastle, is officially the first Australian to become an NBA All-Star (non-Kyrie Irving division).
[jwplayer OZACKE0F]
Simmons scored his debut All-Star berth as part of the Eastern Conference reserves squad, after “missing out” (read: getting absolutely trounced in the votes) on a starting spot last week.
Making his FIRST #NBAAllStar appearance… @BenSimmons25 of the @sixers!#HereTheyCome #BenSimmons pic.twitter.com/3mwE1sQ6h4
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 1, 2019
Simmons joins a pool of reserves from the Eastern Conference that includes the likes of Victor Oladipo, Kyle Lowry, Blake Griffin, Khris Middleton, Bradley Beal, and Nikola Vucevic.
The Eastern Conference @NBAAllStar Reserve Pool!@RealDealBeal23 @blakegriffin23 @Klow7 @Khris22m @VicOladipo @BenSimmons25 @NikolaVucevic #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/LfwuSBvA1P
— NBA (@NBA) February 1, 2019
Meanwhile over on the Western Conference, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Karl-Anthony Townes round out a significantly more star-studded reserve pool.
The Western Conference @NBAAllStar Reserve Pool!@aldridge_12 @AntDavis23
Nikola Jokic@Dame_Lillard @KlayThompson @KarlTowns @russwest44 #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/BHu2JnxiHg— NBA (@NBA) February 1, 2019
This follows on from last week’s announcement of the 2019 All-Star starters, which featured Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid from the East, and Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Paul George, and LeBron James from the West.
James and Antetokounmpo, as the respective leading vote getters, will conduct a schoolyard pick from those pools to determine the two team squads for this year’s NBA All-Star Game, which is scheduled to take place on Monday, February 18th Australian time.
So there you bloody go.
Ben Simmons.
Melbourne born and raised.
NBA All-Star.
Absolutely get around him.
