LSU’s Simmons taken No. 1 overall in draft

Ben Simmons became the first LSU Tiger taken No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft since Shaquille O’Neal more than two decades ago.
The Philadelphia 76ers selected Simmons, a native of Australia, with the first pick of Thursday night’s NBA Draft held in Brooklyn, New York. The 6-foot-10, 242-pound forward averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in a lone season with the Tigers, a season that ended with LSU posting a 19-14 record and missing the NCAA Men’s Tournament.
Simmons already had signed a $20 million sneaker deal with Nike and will be seen in the upcoming Showtime documentary film called “ONE & DONE,” which will debut in October. O’Neal was the last Tiger selected as the top overall pick when he was taken by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft.
The New Orleans Pelicans meanwhile used the No. 6 overall pick to select Oklahoma Sooners senior guard Buddy Hield.
Hield, who was born and raised in the Bahamas, averaged 25 points per game last season, was named an Associated Press All-American, won the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy, and led Oklahoma to NCAA Men’s Final Four. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard drained 147 three-pointers with an average of 46 percent from beyond the arc.
The Pelicans then used its pair of second round draft picks (No. 39 and No. 40 overall) to trade with the Los Angeles Clippers to obtain the No. 33 overall pick, where New Orleans selected Kansas Jayhawks 6-foot-9 power forward Cheick Diallo.