Ben Simmons' dunk keyed a big Sixers' win.
NBABy Andrew Bucholtz on

The Philadelphia 76ers’ fans are finally getting some on-court action to cheer for, and some of that is coming from Ben Simmons, the first-overall pick in the 2016 draft. Simmons had an amazing night Wednesday in the Sixers’ 119-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks, their first home victory of the season. He recorded 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and threw down an emphatic slam dunk in the final minutes:

Here’s a reverse angle:

And the Sixers’ bench erupted afterwards:

As Dan Gelston of The Associated Press noted in his game story, this was only part of Simmons’ remarkable overall night, and it caused the crowd to break out in “Trust The Process” chants:

The red band version of Simmons’ highlight reel looked at times almost obscene to Atlanta: He switched from his left to right hand mid-air to score a bucket. Simmons let the ball roll high of his right fingertips for another uncontested score.

And the exclamation point, a thunderous slam in the final minute that had fans standing and chanting ”Trust the Process!”

Simmons had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Embiid had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight win, 119-109 over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

”Yeah, I’ve gotta dunk more,” Simmons said. ”I don’t know. I just get out there and I’m like, uhh, these guys are pretty big. Once I start dunking it …”

His thought trailed off but the Hawks – and the rest of the NBA – got the message. Simmons is the real deal.

Well, he certainly dunked it in this one. And he’s been amazing overall, scoring 10 or more points in every game and joining Oscar Robertson as the only players with 100 points, 50 rebounds and 40 assists through their first six games. Sixers’ fans have had to wait a while for Simmons, as he broke a bone in his foot during the final scrimmage of his rookie year and missed the whole season, but they made his jersey a top seller long before seeing him play in the NBA, and they’re getting to enjoy the rewards now. Now that’s trusting the process. And as Gelston writes, more may be ahead:

“Just how much more is he capable of the rest of the way?

”There’s a lot more. Way more,” he said. ”I think in a few years, it’s going to be fun.”

It was already fun for Sixers’ fans Wednesday. It may get more fun still.

[NBA.com]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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