Big Ben’s journey into LeBron’s world starts now

Ben Simmons is starting what we hope will be a journey to the very top of the basketball world.

Ben Simmons starts his NBA career for the Philadelphia 76ers

These are the things we do not know about Ben Simmons.

Does he rise to an occasion? Does he relish his responsibilities? Will they make him shrink? Flinch? Soar? Can he make the clutch plays? Stay creative under pressure? Will he accept the scrutiny? Be annoyed by it? Will the flame of fame sit comfortably with him? Can vast riches and voluptuous groupies distract him? The eye-catching plays that Simmons can make in the first quarters of a match, can he do them again when it’s 95-95 on the buzzer? Because those are the moments that will define him. Courageous bloke? Choke? Is this oft-stated ambition for NBA greatness as achievable as he (and everyone else) thinks?

We’ll start getting the answers today when the 21-year-old Australian with the highbrow basketball IQ makes his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers. Hoo-ee, it’s big. Compelling. Best-case scenario: we’ll be glued to our screens for the next decade. He’ll wear multiple NBA rings like kids putting Cheezels on their fingers. He’ll routinely top the Forbes Rich List for Australian athletes. He’ll ignite hoops in this country like no one before him.

It’s considered bad luck to wish an actor good luck when they first step onto a Broadway stage but after a brutal opening night in the NBA, it’s not the time to tell Simmons to break a leg, either.

Simmons is called “little bro” by LeBron James, and his towering mate from the Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off the 72nd NBA season yesterday with a dramatic grudge match against Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics.

Irving versus the Cavaliers was like Cooper Cronk suiting up against the Melbourne Storm next season — but with animosity. Irving had made it clear he no longer wanted to play with James because he wanted to forge his own legacy. James responded: “I tried to do whatever I could do to help the kid out and so he could be the best player he could be. I tried to give him everything, give him as much of my DNA as I could. As I said throughout last season, at some point when he was ready to take over the keys, I was ready to give them to him.”

The Cavs won 102-99 at The Q in downtown Cleveland. It took Irving 11 seconds to hit his first points on his own floor. Players and spectators were silenced when the Celtics’ Gordon Hayward dislocated his left ankle and fractured his leg after six minutes.

James put his face in hands and stared at the ground. The Celtics hugged and could barely look at Hayward as he was carried off. James shook Hayward’s hand as the Celtics’ bench appeared on the verge of tears.

“It just shows you the fragile nature of what we do,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the Warriors opened their season against the Houston Rockets at Oakland’s Oracle Arena.

James was exceptional, powerful, running rings around Australia’s Aron Baynes and everyone else in a green singlet, posting 29 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists after a virtually non-existent pre-season because of ankle trouble. Irving hit 22 points in a typically will-o’-the-wisp performance but he missed a three- pointer in the final seconds that would have sent the match into overtime.

“I’m out of shape but the most important thing is we got the win,” James said on ESPN. “We’ve got seven new guys. Every game is going to be a learning experience.”

Simmons wants to be the next King James. It’s a long way from base camp to the peak but you’ve gotta start somewhere, and he takes his first steps against the Washington Wizards at 10am (AEDT) today.

James has three championship rings. Three finals’ MVP awards. Four regular-season MVPs. Thirteen All-Star appearances. Two Olympic gold medals. The 1062 NBA matches. The 28,816 points; 7722 rebounds; 7470 assists; 1749 steals; and 1468 three-pointers.

How do you get close to that? James was the Rookie of the Year in 2004. There’s the starting point for Simmons but as we saw yesterday with Hayward, nothing can be taken for granted. A decade of health and fitness is required. Will he get it? That’s the first thing we need to know.