Ben Simmons - if he had grown up playing footy

[Coaster2012]

Use to play footy, but bailed because he hated playing ruck (who could blame him?)

He played under 14's BBall and footy with Petracca, who said in an interview that he was getting better with each game and started playing beyond the level of the other kids his age. His athletic talents alone would have seen him be a high pick, and if any of those skills translated , which I think would have (Pendlebury and Rough are very smooth players) he would have been ridiculous.

For a bit of perspective, Simmons had a max vertical leap tested at 41.5 inches-
Nic Natanui who has the combine record had a 40.1 inch vertical. He is also 7cm taller than Nic. He also smashed the LSU agility testing record with 2.9 seconds (look up draftexpress for more information)

In short he would have been to biggest freak athlete our sport has ever seen and judging by his silky skill set, hand eye coordination and high basketball IQ, would have dominated the league, and definately made the right call going to the NBA. (He is on an estimated $6m per year as a top pick rookie, with a 20m Nike shoe deal for the next 4 years. The way he has started, Philly will most likely try to renegotiate his rookie extension for the max of roughly 140m US over 5 years)View attachment 433133

This stuff actually saddens me. Takes a bit of legitimacy away from our game. He would have been the most gifted athletic the AFL had ever seen, and now, he's just your normal NBA player.

i still think if the AFL were a true international game we would give the US a lot of trouble....

Buddy would be Labron James Mk II

Name an international team sport that American is dominant at?

Ahh basketball? Its essentially the 2nd world's game behind soccer. The top 5 players under 23 in the NBA are all international players (Embiid is from Cameroon, Giannis is from Greece, Simmons is from Australia, Towns is from the Dominican Republic). Not to mention the copious amounts of Aussies who have played in the NBA over the years. Take one look at the Spurs, something like 65% of their team isn't native born.

Lacks a jump shot

In today's game he debunked that .

 

[vanders]

Essendon fan, like Exum and Bogut.

No wonder he preferred basketball

 

[Rack Watts]

No wonder he preferred basketball

Lucky for him he did hey?

 

[Tyler Hodges]

Use to play footy, but bailed because he hated playing ruck (who could blame him?)



This stuff actually saddens me. Takes a bit of legitimacy away from our game. He would have been the most gifted athletic the AFL had ever seen, and now, he's just your normal NBA player.



Ahh basketball? Its essentially the 2nd world's game behind soccer. The top 5 players under 23 in the NBA are all international players (Embiid is from Cameroon, Giannis is from Greece, Simmons is from Australia, Towns is from the Dominican Republic). Not to mention the copious amounts of Aussies who have played in the NBA over the years. Take one look at the Spurs, something like 65% of their team isn't native born.



In today's game he debunked that .

Won't be a normal NBA star, his size and skill set is very unique.

A talent like his would be hidden in the AFL system, better to put it on show for the world to see imo.

 

[PP34]

NBA players aren't built for endurance though so its not exactly comparing apples with apples and NBA players are all on gear.

You bulk up Naitanui as more of a power athelete and let him take gear (or more gear depending on how sceptical you're on the AFL being clean) the gap between he and Simmons wouldn't be as wide as you make out.

That being said Simmons was no where near ever choosing AFL. His father was American and had him moving around different representative basketball teams making sure he played the majority of his basketball as a guard despite being the biggest kid on the court.

Oh please.

These blokes have been athletic phenoms since their teens. Nothing to do with gear. Unless you’re telling me a 15 year old LeBron who was homeless at stages somehow had access to gear. Which of course he wouldn’t have.

The best athletes in the NBA are on another planet to AFL players. There is nothing impressive at all about the majority of AFL players athletic wise, that’s why guys like Buddy and Nic Nat stand out.

It isn’t hard to be an aerobic machine. Just takes a lot of running.

 

[JVseven]

Could he have been the GOAT?

 

[Sweetback]

Use to play footy, but bailed because he hated playing ruck (who could blame him?)



This stuff actually saddens me. Takes a bit of legitimacy away from our game. He would have been the most gifted athletic the AFL had ever seen, and now, he's just your normal NBA player.



Ahh basketball? Its essentially the 2nd world's game behind soccer. The top 5 players under 23 in the NBA are all international players (Embiid is from Cameroon, Giannis is from Greece, Simmons is from Australia, Towns is from the Dominican Republic). Not to mention the copious amounts of Aussies who have played in the NBA over the years. Take one look at the Spurs, something like 65% of their team isn't native born.



In today's game he debunked that .

He’s hardly normal. A 6”10’ point guard. The guy in his rookie year might make the all star team. He’s going to be a freak.

 

[Damon_3388]

Name an international team sport that American is dominant at?

Umm, basketball.

 

[Damon_3388]

Im normally not into hyperbole concerning the athleticism, specimen, of AFL, but i really think Buddy is an exception to parochialism... He is a freak in any era, any country, this side of pluto.

He's pretty much the equivalent of a bog average NBA player, in size and athleticism.

6'5"-6'6", 90-100kg guys with decent quickness and agility are literally dime a dozen in basketball.

 

[thecatattack]

Lacks a jump shot

As has LeBron for most of his career.

 

[thecatattack]

There is nothing impressive at all about the majority of AFL players athletic wise, that’s why guys like Buddy and Nic Nat stand out.

Hmm, no. AFL players are still uber-athletic.

 

[PP34]

Hmm, no. AFL players are still uber-athletic.

Athletic in comparison to the normal Australian population? Yes.

They're not freak athletes like NBA players though. Not even close. Fair majority of AFL players would have average verticals, decent sprint times and good aerobic capacity.

 

[thecatattack]

Athletic in comparison to the normal Australian population? Yes.

In comparison to any normal person around the world.

 

[Aeglos]

In comparison to any normal person around the world.

You can apply that to any elite/professional athlete though so hardly relevant

 

[Mr_Plow]

He's pretty much the equivalent of a bog average NBA player, in size and athleticism.

6'5"-6'6", 90-100kg guys with decent quickness and agility are literally dime a dozen in basketball.

This.

Buddy is a freak athlete (does lack a vertical), but Simmons is from another planet comparatively.

Longer, heavier, quicker and more explosive.

 

[The Joker]

He is having the best start statistically to his career since Lebron James.

I dont remember LBJ going for three double-doubles and a tripple-double from his first 4 games. From seven games he is 0.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists away from a tripple-double average!

This kids a freak, thank * he didn't choose AFL...

 

[Simon_Says]

The kid is basically Magic if he played Centre

 

[2006_Eagles]

Pendles used to play basketball??

I never knew this!

 

[Dundalis]

Get them off the gear and have them running 16km+ every week and lets see how they fair "athletically", they will certainly have some freaks given a population of 360 mil but it would be a lot closer then you think.

It's African Americans that dominate in the US athletically and in sports. Africans typically have traits that allow them to excel in the types of athletic skills required in a lot of popular sports on average more so than caucasians. Longer limbs and muscles, shorter torso's etc. Caucasians mainly dominate in sports that don't require those athletic traits so much (quick twitch stuff, sprinting and jumping etc). Simmons has his African American father to thank for most of the athletic traits that are allowing him to succeed in the NBA.

 

[Dundalis]

I dont remember LBJ going for three double-doubles and a tripple-double from his first 4 games. From seven games he is 0.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists away from a tripple-double average!

This kids a freak, thank **** he didn't choose AFL...

Lebron was 18 his rookie season. He was averaging 31/7/6 at Simmons age. To be honest Simmons would have been better off going straight to the NBA than spending that year in college, which was a waste. Lebron was also a level above Simmons athletically (no slight whatsoever on Simmons), particularly vertically. He could jump through the roof. Lebron is the most impressive all round athlete in NBA history, and probably across any sport.

I will say I think Simmons actually has a tigher handle than Lebron ever had, and could therefore potentially play the PG position full time as opposed to Lebron, who has been more of a hybrid point forward. I don't think he will ever be close to as dominant a scorer though. More Magic Johnson in style.

 

[loki04]

It's African Americans that dominate in the US athletically and in sports. Africans typically have traits that allow them to excel in the types of athletic skills required in a lot of popular sports on average more so than caucasians. Longer limbs and muscles, shorter torso's etc. Caucasians mainly dominate in sports that don't require those athletic traits so much (quick twitch stuff, sprinting and jumping etc). Simmons has his African American father to thank for most of the athletic traits that are allowing him to succeed in the NBA.

They certainly have high fast twitch fibers counts compared to Caucasians who have high neutral counts. Which obviously tends to help them in explosive movements and exercise but truth be known all races have freaks.

Very hard to gauge African DNA athletes (vs the rest) when the worlds best African sprinters/athletes/fighters are often done with roids in their system sometimes decades after the fact (this also applies to many US athletes of all races simple fact is roids are rife in that countrys sporting landscape).

The NBA players and NFL players similarly are known for their ahem extra help...

btw they don't dominate the swimming, also just as many explosive MMA fighters, power lifters, weightlifters that are non african in fact there are more. So while its true they have a great genes for explosive sports ie sprinting et el they aren't the only race to churn out champions in all sports that require it!

 

[Bojan KantKick]

They certainly have high fast twitch fibers counts compared to Caucasians who have high neutral counts. Which obviously tends to help them in explosive movements and exercise but truth be known all races have freaks.

Very hard to gauge African DNA athletes (vs the rest) when the worlds best African sprinters/athletes/fighters are often done with roids in their system sometimes decades after the fact (this also applies to many US athletes of all races simple fact is roids are rife in that countrys sporting landscape).

The NBA players and NFL players similarly are known for their ahem extra help...

btw they don't dominate the swimming, also just as many explosive MMA fighters, power lifters, weightlifters that are non african in fact there are more. So while its true they have a great genes for explosive sports ie sprinting et el they aren't the only race to churn out champions in all sports that require it!

nba players get drug tested and Buddy has failed at least 2 drug tests over his career so not the greatest comparison.

NBA and NFL players usually get suspended for marijuana, not roids.

 

[loki04]

Oh please.

These blokes have been athletic phenoms since their teens. Nothing to do with gear. Unless you’re telling me a 15 year old LeBron who was homeless at stages somehow had access to gear. Which of course he wouldn’t have.

The best athletes in the NBA are on another planet to AFL players. There is nothing impressive at all about the majority of AFL players athletic wise, that’s why guys like Buddy and Nic Nat stand out.

It isn’t hard to be an aerobic machine. Just takes a lot of running.

I take itn you haven't seen the docos on the rife roid problems through as early as high school and typically through college sports in the US...He may well of been a freak naturally doesn't preclude him from coming across it in his journey to the nba.

 

[The_Eagles]

African Americans probably would dominate but across sports... C Ronaldo and Messi, southern euro
Bradman Warne, northern euro
Brady, northern euro
Phelps, Thorpey, northern euro


Still a few white All Time Greats

 

[loki04]

nba players get drug tested and Buddy has failed at least 2 drug tests over his career so not the greatest comparison.

NBA and NFL players usually get suspended for marijuana, not roids.

So do the american olympic athletes...NFL and NBA wouldn't allow it to come out. Last I checked to for many years they didn't test for many performance enhancers.

Looks like the last few years they have reigned it in some what but here
http://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/...tor-general-says-nba-gaps-anti-doping-program

The director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency says the NBA's anti-doping program is insufficient.

"They've got gaps in their program, between what they do and what we suggest would be better," David Howman said.

"They know what we would suggest," added Howman, who calls for the NBA to test for human growth hormone, among other things. "And I would just hope that they would be discussing all of those things rather than just putting them on the side table."

The NBA declined comment.


WADA designs testing protocols that are employed by hundreds of leagues and national federations globally, including the Olympics and international cycling. Professional cyclists say aggressive testing in recent years led many cheaters to mend their ways, and analysis of key race data suggest they may have: Riders are measurably slower by key measures than in the years of heavy doping, which is seen as confirmation the sport is cleaner.

Cycling also has seen a string of confessions, including in testimony before the United States Anti-Doping Agency that has shattered the reputation of cycling legend Lance Armstrong.

Howman's concern is that practices that have evidently been effective in other sports are not all being deployed in the NBA.

In the past, including in testimony before Congress in 2005, NBA officials have made the case that performance-enhancing drugs are unlikely to be effective in basketball.

"They do not feel they have such an issue as the other major leagues and therefore haven't addressed it in quite the same way," Howman said. "I just think you've got to be very careful when you start saying performance-enhancing drugs are not beneficial in any sport, because you're going to be proven wrong. And you'll be proven wrong when you're not expecting it."

At present, HGH is banned in the NBA, but the league does not test players' blood for it. WADA strongly recommends the test, deployed by many sporting organizations, including the Olympics and, in limited ways, Major League Baseball. The NFL is interested in implementing the test but faces hurdles from the union. The NBA and its Players' Association have formed a committee to explore HGH testing, but no progress has been reported.

As of yet, no major North American leagues have adopted WADA's full code of recommendations. Howman said there has been progress in football and baseball, but noted basketball is a laggard.

"I had meetings last week with both the MLB and the NFL," Howman told ESPN.com by phone. "Although through their collectively bargained agreements, they have not embraced the World Anti-Doping Code, they've certainly come much closer.

"Everybody likes to think their sport is one that's not tainted. We work on the basis that there's no sport, and no country, which is immune. Better, therefore, to be aggressive in the way you go forward than to be complacent. I think those who are too complacent end
up being bitten where they don't like to be bitten."

Bit hard to get done for doping when your code up to 2015 didn't test for it...lol the naivety...haha let me guess you are a fan of WWE thinks it's real and all natty too? Eat clen, tren hard my friend...