Philadelphia 76ers: Porzingis injury should make Ben Simmons an All-Star

After Kristaps Porzingis tore his ACL on Tuesday, Philadelphia 76ers do-it-all rookie may have one final chance to become an All-Star

Come on NBA, don’t make the same mistake for the fourth time.

After overlooking Philadelphia 76ers Rookie of the Year frontrunner Ben Simmons in favor of selecting Goran Dragic to replace injured All-Star Kevin Love for the 2018 NBA All-Star game, the Eastern Conference will once again have to bring to find a new 13th man after Kristaps Porzingis‘ unfortunate injury.

On Tuesday night, the New York Knicks‘ Unicron landed awkwardly on his way leg and immediately fell to the ground in visible pain.

A post-game MRI only confirmed what many fans had feared; Porzingis had torn his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season.

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While this is obviously a tough pill to swallow for a surprisingly good Knicks squad who looked primed to make the playoffs for the first time in the post-Carmelo Anthony-era, this injury once again opens up a potential spot for Simmons to become the first rookie All-Star since Blake Griffin accomplished the feat in 2010.

It’s almost like it’s meant to be at this point.

Averaging an impressive 16.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game over his first 50 games in the NBA, Simmons is an incredibly unique player who can essentially play all five positions across the court, and be effective on both the offensive and defensive side of the court.

With only 13 players on each All-Star team, adding a player with Simmons’ skillset to play alongside LeBron James could give the Eastern Conference team one of the most dynamic one-two punches in All-Star game history, and could prove absolutely deadly on a 1-4 pick and roll.

While some will say it’s simply too soon for Simmons to be named an All-Star as a rookie, at this point, who’s even left to fill the spot? Would the NBA seriously consider crossing conference lines and finally giving the nod to Lou Williams? Or how about the aforementioned Blake Griffen, a player who’s been in the Eastern Conference for all of a week at this point.

Giving Simmons an All-Star nod would not only be huge for the young Aussie’s confidence, but it actually makes almost too much sense from a roster parody standpoint, as Simmons can play virtually every position on the court, and could help to fill the void left by Porzingis.

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Please NBA, do the right thing and make Ben Simmons an All-Star. The fourth time should definitely be the charm.