‘People forget’: Aussie star responds to Simmons critics amid bold Boomers call

Aussie NBA star Josh Giddey has thrown his help behind Ben Simmons and says he hopes to play alongside him on the Boomers within the subsequent couple of years.

Simmons has gotten off to an detached begin on the struggling 4-6 Brooklyn Nets after sitting out all of final season for the Philadelphia 76ers amid a commerce standoff.

The former Pick 1 has been marred by foul hassle and seemed rusty offensively earlier than getting sidelined with a knee situation.

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Giddey stated he’d “spoken a little bit” to Simmons throughout the early elements of the season, however known as for persistence for the three-time All-Star to get again to his greatest type.

“He was dealing with some stuff with Philly and now has a fresh start in Brooklyn,” Giddey stated.

“People forget Ben’s an All-Star, he is one of the best players in the league.

“He’s obviously going to need time to find his feet again, he hasn’t played for a long time in the NBA.

“I’m excited for what he can do and hopefully soon we can be a part of the Boomers together and help Australia win a gold medal.”

Simmons himself over the weekend stated he’ll “one hundred per cent” signify Australia on the Olympics someday, declaring it a “dream.”

It comes forward of a giant couple of years for the Boomers together with the FIBA World Cup subsequent yr adopted by the Paris Olympics in 2024.

After a number of fourth-place finishes, Australia lastly claimed its first Olympic medal by beating Slovenia to win bronze in Tokyo 2020.

Giddey confirmed he’s eager to assist Aussie stalwarts Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes proceed their surge on the worldwide scene and make a real push for gold because the likes of Simmons, Dyson Daniels and Josh Green additionally come by way of the ranks.

“I’ll be there – World Cup is coming up next year. Anything short of a gold medal we won’t be happy with,” he stated.

“The country is finally at a point where we can comfortably go into these tournaments with a gold medal on our mind.

“In previous years, it might’ve been the hope, but how realistic it was, I don’t know. There definitely was the last Olympics and the last World Cup.

“As time has evolved the chances of gold have become more and more realistic. This is the time where Australian basketball is as good as it’s ever been – the talent level we have is elite.

“I’m really excited for the World Cup and moreso the Olympics – I think that’s every player’s dream to win a gold medal there – so I can’t wait for those tournaments.”

Giddey’s OKC Thunder are additionally turning heads this season regardless of being one in every of a number of NBA groups anticipated to be within the race for seemingly Pick 1 Victor Wembanyama.

The Thunder are at present eleventh within the West with a 4-5 document, with Giddey’s back-court associate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander producing carer-best type.

The Aussie believes his aspect together with the likes of the Utah Jazz (8-3) and San Antonio Spurs (5-5) are displaying that growing groups can nonetheless deliver it each time they take the court docket regardless of the clear enchantment of touchdown Wenbamyama.

“It’s good to see these young teams competing. It shows just because you’re rebuilding, it doesn’t mean you can’t be competitive and win games,” he stated.

“With regards to Victor, he’s a generational talent. Whether teams are trying to get him, I don’t really know, but he’s going to be on the eye of a lot of general managers this year.

“I’m not really focused on that at the moment. I’m focused on winning games for the Thunder and I’m excited for our team and happy with where we are right now.”

Giddey has joined forces with AFL stars Tom Mitchell, Patrick Cripps and Lachie Neale as a co-owner and content material creator for common health and abilities app Ball Magnets.

He turns into the app’s first basketball ambassador and can present insights, challenges drills, interviews and behind-the-scenes content material that can give customers unfiltered entry to studying the artwork of basketball and what it takes to play at NBA degree.

“It was something I was really passionate about, being able to give back to younger generations and help these kids out,” Giddey stated.

“Hopefully I can provide an audience – not just in Australia – but around the world, for basketball.

“There’s a lot of different things that I worked on when I was that age to get better – ball handling, shooting drills, passing drills – there’s a lot of things kids can work on.

“You see a lot of kids these days when they practice, they try and just bomb up threes. Everyone wants to be Steph Curry when they’re 10 years old.

“So hopefully these kids can see that little insight into how I train and what I do to prepare myself at the highest level.

“The best thing about the app is that it’s free. I would’ve loved to have this opportunity when I was a kid to learn from athletes at the highest levels of their respective sports.”

Ball Magnets is a FREE App that has been developed by among the greatest AFL, AFLW and NBA gamers. Download now and discover out what it takes to coach like an AFL and NBA participant and discover tricks to begin bettering your recreation.