Ben Simmons named to NBA All-Rookie First Team

According to a press release from the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons has been named to the 2017-2018 NBA All-Rookie First Team:

The NBA announced today that Philadelphia 76ers guard-forward Ben Simmons was unanimously named to the 2017-18 NBA All-Rookie First Team after receiving first-place votes on all 100 ballots from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Simmons is the 15th player in franchise history to earn All-Rookie First Team honors and this is the fifth consecutive year at least one 76ers player has been named to the All-Rookie First Team. It’s tied for the longest such streak in NBA history, with the Knicks who did so from 1963-68.

Simmons appeared in 81 games (all starts), averaging 15.8 points in 33.7 minutes per game, while his averages of 8.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.7 steals per contest led all rookies. The 6-10 guard-forward joins Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only two rookies in NBA history to post at least 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. He was one of only three NBA players to post such averages this season, joining Cleveland’s LeBron James and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.

The Australia native posted 12 triple-doubles, the second-most ever by a rookie, behind Oscar Robertson’s 26 in 1960-61. Just seven active NBA players have more career triple-doubles than Simmons.

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Ben was going to be named to the All-Rookie First Team. After all, some writers pondered adding him to their All-NBA Third Team roster.

What’s impressive is that Ben received first place votes on all 100 of the ballots. Donovan Mitchell also achieved this feat, so the national narrative between who deserves Rookie of the Year probably continues.

The rest of the All-Rookie First Team was filled out by Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma and Lauri Markkanen.

The following table, provided by the 76ers public relations team, is a breakdown of both the First Team and the Second Team lineups as well as vote distribution.

76ers PR