BEN Simmons went to the same US college as Shaquille O’Neal and now the Newcastle-raised guard shares an NBA record with the Basketball Hall Of Famer.
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Simmons on Tuesday became the first player since O’Neal (11) to open his NBA career with four straight double-doubles.
On a breakout out night for the 21-year-old, Simmons scored 21 points, pulled in 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists to propel the Philadelphia 76ers to a 97-86 win over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.
It was the 76ers’ first win of the season and Simmons’ first triple double in just his fourth game.
O’Neal, one of the most dominant centres in history, and Simmons both went to the Louisiana State University and were the No.1 draft pick. O’Neal was picked up by Orlando Magic in 1992 and Simmons was drafted by Philadelphia last year.
In an interview in September 2016, O’Neal compared Simmons' unique skill set and potential on-court impact to that of arguably the best player in the world: Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.
"He's a LeBron-type player," O'Neal said of Simmons, a then 20-year-old forward. "What I mean by that, LeBron does a nice job of making everybody else around him better - passing the ball, doing the small things - and Ben is that type of player."
After missing the 2016 season with a foot injury, Simmons is living up to O’Neal’s expectations.
The Melbourne-born, 208cm point-guard, who learnt to play basketball In Newcastle when his father, Dave, moved their family to the city for the final playing years of his National Basketball League, is the favourite for the Rookie of the Year.
With the world watching in anticipation, Simmons scored 18 points and secured 10 rebounds on debut in a 120-115 loss to the Washington Wizards less than a week ago.
He hasn’t stopped. The silky-skilled big man dropped 11 points to go with 11 boards in a 102-92 loss to Boston and added 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 128-94 defeat to Toronto.
The 76ers play the Houston Rockets in Texas on Friday.
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Ben Simmons has led the Philadelphia 76ers to their first regular season win with a history-making triple-double that places him alongside basketball greats Oscar Robertson and Charles Barkley in the NBA history books.
The 21-year-old from Melbourne, in just his fourth NBA game, was superb with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the 97-86 win against the Detroit Pistons.
The Australian shrugged off the personal accolades and focused on his team's maiden win.
"It feels great that we won," Simmons said.
"Our team played well together and we played the right way.
"I'm just happy we got our first one."
The 76ers, despite high expectations, opened the NBA regular season with losses in their first three games.
Simmons and centre Joel Embiid, with 30 points and nine rebounds, were too strong for a Pistons squad that falls to a two-win, two-loss season record.
Just two other players, Robertson and Art "Hambone" Williams, have achieved triple-doubles in their first four games.
Simmons also became the first player to achieve the feat in Detroit's new Little Caesars Arena and became the first 76ers rookie since Michael Carter-Williams to post a triple-double.
He also became the first 76ers player since Barkley in 1987 to shoot more than 70 per cent from the field in a triple-double with eight of his 11 shots successful.
