Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons is spending his time away from basketball like most of us - playing video games.
During a Call of Duty live stream on Twitch, the Aussie and his fellow games got talking about the toughest defenders in the NBA.
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Simmons, an astute judge as one of the best defenders in the league himself and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate this season, threw out a list of names, including voicing his support for the much-maligned defender James Harden.
"Yo, here's the one thing. I've got something to say. Everyone talks on James' D, but he can play D. I don't think y'all understand how strong that dude is. He's a strong guy. A lot of people listen to analytics and stuff, it makes no sense," Simmons said.
"Analytically? You can't always look at numbers, man."
When it came to the big men, Simmons put Los Angles Lakers star over two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, providing a solid explanation to back up his claim.
"I look at AD and I think he's a better defender than Gobert, because he can defend guards at times," he said.
"Look, I play ball, I'm looking at guys who can guard 1 through 5, man. ... You can't say you're one of the best defenders if you're not guarding every position."
After mentioning Los Angeles Clippers duo Patrick Beverley and Kawhi Leonard, someone suggested reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Simmons was quick to point to Leonard's next level playoff performances to put him over the top.
“You’d put Giannis over Kawhi? You’ve never played Kawhi in the playoffs, then.”
Other names mentioned in the debate included Miami Heat duo Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo as well as Boston's Marcus Smart, before he remembered his own 76ers teammate Joel Embiid.
“You know what, Joel (Embiid). I’m trippin,'” he said before inserting himself in his All-Defence starting five.
After much deliberation, Simmon's top five list panned out as Patrick Beverley, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and himself.
You can watch the entire stream in the video below:
Watch Call of duty Warzone w/ ZENO from SimmoTheSavage25 on www.twitch.tv
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