Ben Simmons: From NCAA Star to NBA's Fading Potential

0:00On April 26th, Ben Simmons went all in on blasting the NCAA back in his tell-all documentary One and Done, calling out the whole system as messed up, and predatory. He felt like top high school stars got trapped into playing college ball just to boost TV ratings and ticket sales, with no rope payoff for them. He opened up in interviews about the non-stop demands, like extra photoshoots and media after classes in practice, leaving him wondering what he was. Shortly getting out of it, Simmons saw it as a sneaky business that used players' images without giving back much control or cash. NCAA leaders pushed back, saying nobody forced him to go to LSU since the NBA's One and Done rule is what keeps 19-year-olds out of the draft. For a year. Still, his single season there was Stray Fire, pulling in huge crowds and national games. That performance made him the top pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016, and he bounced back from an early injury to snag rookie. Of the year, and multiple all-star nods, things soured with back issues and team drama though.

1:05Fast forward, Simmons bounced around, barely played for the Clippers lately, and his once sky-high potential as the next big thing has faded into what. Looks like the end of his NBA run.