Ben Simmons announces FIBA World Cup participation

For those eager to see the results of Ben Simmons’ offseason training this summer, good news! You won’t have long to wait. While much of the basketball world was distracted by last night’s NBA Draft Lottery, the Sixers star announced on social media that he would be playing for Team Australia in the FIBA World Cup in China this September.

The FIBA World Cup takes place from August 31 to September 15, with Australia playing in a group pool against Canada, Senegal, and Lithuania (the US has Turkey (hi Furkan!), Czech Republic, and Japan in its group). Australia is also slated to play exhibition games against Canada and the US leading up to the tournament.

Playing more meaningful games against quality competition is always a good thing from a development standpoint, especially for a young guy like Simmons without much mileage on his tires. Plus, the 3-point line in FIBA competition is only 22.15 feet at the top of the key, over a foot shorter than the NBA’s line. Could be an easy way to transition it into his game?