It felt like forever. Sure, we were all excited to see Jahlil Okafor play in Summer League last year, but we haven’t had a player like Ben Simmons – a number one pick – to drool over in a very long time. We expected a lot, and boy did Ben Simmons live up to the hype… in… one… game… played… in… the… summer.

His stat line – 10 pts, 5 assists, 8 rebounds in 23 mins – doesn’t necessarily leap out at you, but the way he did it does. He got the first monkey off of his back by hitting a jumper (just one), which is something people acted like he’d never do in his whole career. Then there’s the whole highlight film above, but just look at this pass:

If your pants didn’t get tighter, you weren’t paying attention. And in something you can only tell by watching the game, Simmons did what we all were expecting of him: he made those around him better. From firing touch passes to Richaun Holmes to starting fast-breaks off a defensive rebound, he elevated the play of the three Sixers and five scrubs while he was on the floor. He’s so in-control of himself, the ball and those around him. That’s what will define Simmons early in his career. He may eventually wow with scoring numbers and stat lines, but his controlling presence is what’s impressive right now.

Now, for the negatives: With only one practice under his belt after time off of the court, he looked gassed. At every Boston free throw, he stood hunched over, hands on his knees, gasping. One slight cramp in the first half turned into a double leg stiffy later in the game which ruled him out for the rest of the game. But if he’s doing all of that above while not being in peak shape, I’m all in.