76ers' Ben Simmons: 'I Feel Like I'm the Best Defender in the NBA'

Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons is very confident in his ability on the defensive end of the court.  

Speaking to reporters after the Sixers' 118-114 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night, Simmons noted that he believes himself to be the best defensive player in the league:

"I take pride in guarding the best player on the floor every night. It's not a one-off thing. If you watch me, I'm typically guarding the best player. And typically the best players are guards, or shooting guards, whatever it is. And I love that. I love the fact that my teammates can look at me and tell me, 'You got to go out and lock this guy up.' There's nights that guys go off, it's gonna happen. But most of the time I feel like I'm doing a good job and making the right plays. I feel like I'm the best defender in the NBA."

Simmons primarily matched up opposite Damian Lillard against the Blazers. Even though Lillard dropped 30 points, his 28.6 field-goal percentage was his second-worst in a single game this season (21.4 percent on Dec. 30 vs. the Los Angeles Clippers was his worst). 

Discussion surrounding Simmons tends to revolve around his limitations as a shooter on offense, but the 24-year-old has proved himself to be good at so many other things that it doesn't matter. 

Simmons has been named to the All-Star team in each of the past two seasons. He led the league in steals per game (2.1) and was named to the All-Defensive first team in 2019-20. 

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has put an emphasis on Joel Embiid and their outside shooters offensively, which is one reason why Simmons is averaging a career-low 14.0 points per game this season.

But Simmons' ability to defend the best scorer on the opposing team is a major reason why Philadelphia has the fourth-best defensive rating in the NBA and leads the Eastern Conference with an 18-8 record.