After seeing the 2016 No. 1 draft up close and personal, Chicago Bulls’ rookie Denzel Valentine gave Ben Simmons a pretty big comparison.

“He’s like a mini-LeBron,” the Bulls’ 14th overall pick said after facing Simmons for the first time as a pro Sunday. “LeBron’s probably top 10, so if he’s a mini-LeBron, that’s saying a lot.”

 

The LSU product hit 7 of 13 shots and scored 18 points, but the 76ers fell to 0-2 with an 83-70 loss to the Bulls at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Against Chicago, Simmons said he took what was given to him as the Bulls limited the 6-foot-10 playmaker to two assists and three rebounds.

“They were letting me shoot it, so I shot the ball,” Simmons said. “… Just started to focus on shooting the ball. They were giving me the shot, so I started taking it and they were falling, so I got into a little rhythm.”

With the Sixers trailing 71-62 in the fourth quarter, Simmons tried to get his team back into the game, scoring eight consecutive points.

He drove for a dunk, made a reverse layup, knocked down a turnaround jumper and then drained another jumper. However, Simmons couldn’t get the Sixers any closer than 78-70 after the scoring outburst.

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source: ESPN