NEW YORK-- The Philadelphia 76ers selected Australian Ben Simmons from Louisiana State University with the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday.
The 19-year-old forward, an excellent rebounder who is good in transition as a scorer or passer, joins a Philadelphia team that finished last overall with a 10-71 record during the NBA's 2015-16 season.
Simmons, the first Australian to be taken with the first pick since the Utah Jazz selected Andrew Bogut in 2005, averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists for LSU in his only college season.
"I'm looking forward to getting to Philly," said the 6-10, 245-pound Simmons, who worked out only for the Sixers ahead of the draft.
"It feels good, I feel relaxed and I am comfortable with the system. Great coaches, great people and a great young team and I am really looking forward to it."
"I've been looking forward to this day for a while, so I'm glad I've made history, not only for myself but my family and Australian basketball," Simmons told reporters after his selection on Thursday night.
He joins a Philadelphia team that has stocked up on high draft picks in recent years but still toiled in the basement of the league, leading to a management shakeup this past season.
Asked about what would be required to lead the 76ers back to the playoffs, Simmons said: "A lot of work every day. I think overall it's just one of those things that takes time."
For Simmons, whose father moved to Australia to play professional basketball, his selection at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn occurred not far from where his father grew up in the borough of the Bronx.
"It honestly feels like all this pressure just has hopped off me," Simmons, long viewed as a top prospect, said of hearing his name called.
Eight Australians were on opening night rosters in the NBA last season, but Simmons was particularly excited about squaring off against fellow countryman Dante Exum, a guard for the Utah Jazz.
"We've had rivalries since we were like seven years old," Simmons said. "It's kind of weird seeing that relationship change from playing in the backyard to now we're going to be playing in the NBA."
The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Simmons is viewed as a player who can both grab rebounds and lead a team like a point guard. Simmons averaged 19 points a game, along with nearly 12 rebounds and five assists in his lone year at Louisiana State University.
Simmons is the second LSU player to be chosen with the top overall pick in the draft, after Shaquille O'Neal was selected No. 1 by the Orlando Magic in 1992.
For the 76ers, it was the first time they had held the top pick since 1996, when they drafted Allen Iverson, the dynamic, feisty point guard.
"A lot of people don't know that I actually had a poster of 'AI' when I was young in my room," Simmons said. "He was one of those players who fought every day."
The Los Angeles Lakers followed with the second pick, the first choice in their post-Kobe Bryant era, and selected shooting guard Brandon Ingram from Duke University.
Ingram, a good passer and excellent three-point shooter with great court awareness, is a slender 6-9 and scored 17.3 points a game for Duke along with 6.8 rebounds on average.
Asked about concerns that he needed to bulk up to compete in the NBA, Ingram said: "I am only 18. The weight is going to come naturally. But I am focused on getting stronger right now.
"I have the inner strength that no one knows about and I am just continuing to get stronger each and every day."
Selecting third in the two-round draft, the Boston Celtics chose small forward Jaylen Brown of California.
