NBL boss Larry Kestelman believes Ben Simmons could be the greatest NBA player of all time

NBL owner Larry Kestelman believes Ben Simmons will inspire a generation of NBA players, just as Michael Jordan did in the 1990s, and believes he can eclipse MJ as the best player of all time.

Be Like Ben? The NBL boss believes Aussie Ben Simmons can be better than Michael Jordan.

NBL boss Larry Kestelman believes Ben Simmons’ freakish NBA feats will spawn a generation of kids who want to “Be Like Ben”.

The man who has bankrolled Australian basketball’s revival believes he can have the same inspirational pull as Michael Jordan.

Kestelman said Melbourne-born Simmons could be the greatest of all time, 25 years after Jordan’s “Be Like Mike” Gatorade commercials showed how popular he had become.

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And he has revealed hopes for an NBA v Australia All Stars game in 2019 that would sell out the 50,000 seat Etihad Stadium.

Simmons has become a phenomenon for the Philadelphia 76ers, and this week expressed a determination to play for the Boomers at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Kestelman said it was time for Australian basketball to get some respect, bemused by the outpouring of love for a Socceroos team that only just scraped into the World Cup.

Aussie Ben Simmons is taking the NBA by storm. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

He said the Simmons story — raised in Melbourne and taking the basketball world by storm — would drive the sport’s growth in coming years.

“I think people love to dream and have aspirations, and Ben is someone we can relate to — he’s the kid who grew up in Melbourne, his dad played in Melbourne and he’s a local Australian boy.

“All the signs are that he could be the GOAT (greatest of all time) — he is building all of the stats of the Michael Jordans of the world early on.

“There is a long way to go, but he could be that guy globally.

“It is one thing to say I want to be like Mike, but Mike was born in the US and Ben is a Melbourne kid who grew up here. Everyone can aspire to be like Ben.

“It isn’t even just in registered teams, it’s in the backyard pretending to be Ben, it’s out in the schoolyard.”

The Basketball World Cup is in China in 2019, and Kestelman is dreaming big, saying an Etihad Stadium All-Star game would easily eclipse our record basketball crowd of 17,800 at the Sydney Super Dome.

Simmons better than Jordan? What do you think, MJ? Picture: AP

“We will end up with the Australian team playing the US team as part of the World Cup and Olympic warm-ups,’’ he said.

“If we had a combination of our NBA Aussies and some NBL guys against an NBA all-comers team it would sell out (Etihad Stadium) in a heartbeat.

“That is definitely my dream. It is something I am going to work towards.”

Simmons decided against playing for the Boomers in Rio but he and Thon Maker would be automatic additions to a squad stacked with NBA players and strengthened by NBL stars.

Kestelman said Australian basketball was underrated given the consistent achievements of the national team and strength of the NBL.

NBL boss Larry Kestelman says Aussie basketball is underrated. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

“I couldn’t help but have a little chuckle when the whole of Australia went mad when we beat Honduras,” he said.

“We just scraped into the World Cup by beating Honduras and it’s a great result that we’re in.

“But Australian basketball beats all of Asia by 25, we are always in the World Cup, we nearly got a medal at the Olympics and we are one of the best teams in the world.

“We have got guys on the biggest stage — people have for a second forgotten how good we are at the sport.”

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