By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
For a guy who has never stepped foot on a professional NBA court for an actual regular season game, Ben Simmons has all the tools in the world to pull off something special in his first official NBA season with the Sixers.
There are so many different things Simmons brings to the table, and none of them have been seen yet. Every time he participates in a practice or a scrimmage, he wows everyone in sight. That's something you don't get very much on your roster.
The talent Simmons exhibits is unmatched for a player his age. He's already considered by many to be a fan favorite player, and he hasn't even played any minutes for the Sixers in his career.
The hype is definitely real, but sometimes, the real thing just doesn't live up to that hype.
We've seen what Sixers center Joel Embiid can do on the court, and Markelle Fultz has a couple of Summer League games under his belt, but Simmons is a whole different animal. It's been a whole year since we've seen Simmons in competition, and for people who forgot about the 2016 Summer League and didn't tune into any of LSU's matchups two seasons ago, Simmons is still an unknown other than what is talked about him.
When was the last player in Philadelphia sports so highly touted and talked about for two seasons, with no performance to back it up, just what is said about him?
When Embiid was injured for two seasons in a row, the big man worked on just about every single facet of his game in order to improve himself. That included his jump shot, in which he dominated beyond the arc at the beginning of the season. Embiid ended up shooting 31.6-percent from three in just 31 games. For a center, that's pretty damn good.
When Simmons was drafted in 2016 with the first overall pick, the Sixers knew they were getting one of the best facilitators and passers available. Someone who could turn into one of the best ball distributors the game as ever seen.
What the Sixers knew they weren't going to get out of Simmons was a player that could shoot well and for average. Simmons was never known for an outstanding shot, never has.
But if Embiid was able to work on his shot in two offseasons, Simmons can do the same.
And he has.
If there was one weakness Simmons had going into this season, it was his shot. But ask him how he's improved since last season, and he'll let you know.
A reporter asked Ben Simmons what he's improved on most? "Everything." What about your– "Everything." — jump shot? "Everything."
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) September 25, 2017
The Sixers had their Blue x White Scrimmage at the Palestra on Sunday afternoon, and Simmons absolutely dominated the floor like everyone had expected him to. He had 23 points, five assists, and four rebounds and went 10-of-15 from the field.
@BenSimmons25 @sixers looking like a beast 👀 pic.twitter.com/lGNYmh2K17
— Thomas Bonanno (@tbone_3) October 1, 2017
For a guy known for his ball handling and distributing, Simmons sure proved the doubters wrong and shot way better than anyone had ever thought he was capable of.
There are a multitude of aspiring rookies in the NBA this season. Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr., Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson and many more are looking to make their professional debuts and one-up everyone else.
But in my opinion, Ben Simmons is the most exciting player this season.
While there are the new-look Thunder, Kyrie Irving on the Celtics, Jimmy Butler on the T-Wolves, and CP3 teaming up with James Harden in Houston, there isn't a player in the NBA that is more scary or more intriguing than Ben Simmons.
Give him the ball this year, and we'll see how amazing Simmons is going to be.
I promise you, Ben Simmons will be the most exciting player you have seen in a long, long time.
