It’s safe to say that Ben Simmons is going to be a marketable player in the NBA. He’s got the passing ability of Pete Maravich, and the scoring ability of young Lebron James. It’s no wonder that fans are already drawn to him.
Simmons is already a draw in the NBA world. His jersey sales are tenth best in the league according to Fanatics.com. It’s quite impressive considering the rookie hasn’t played a meaningful game outside of Summer League play, but he’s already just as popular as some of the league’s best players.
During a recent article by Philly.com, Simmons is the top selling athlete in all of Philadelphia. Judging by that, it seems the city of Brotherly Love is welcoming Simmons into the town with open arms. The 76ers have been the laughing-stock of sports for years now, and maybe the Philly fans are going to finally give their basketball team a chance to win them over.
Another factor in Simmons high jersey sales might come from the Australian market. The Melbourne native is the latest in a line of Australian-born NBA superstars. We’ve seen how the country had embraced players such as Matthew Dellavedova and Andrew Bogut, but Simmons is arguably the best prospect to come from the country.
The NBA is a league where new stars are born every season. It’s one of the most marketable league’s in all of the professional sports. Simmons can help that grow even father with his influence in the Australian market. It seems as if he’s already very familiar with those fans, and any success he has in the league will undoubtedly grow the game in Australia even more than it already has
If the Philadelphia 76ers can improve from their woeful records of the last three years, it won’t just be the Philly and Australian markets that will fall in love with Simmons. He’s got the potential to be a top-five player in the league. There will need to be some improvements, but if given a few years time, we might be talking about Simmons as the most popular player in the NBA.
Follow Daniel James Gentile on Twitter @dgentleman9288