Sixers' Ben Simmons Named MVP for Slam Magazine's Call of Duty Tournament

The crossover between video games and the NBA is an interesting one. Nowadays, it's hardly surprising to hear that NBA players would prefer to spend their downtime streaming video games on Twitch, instead of being out and about.

Philadelphia 76ers star guard Ben Simmons has established himself as one of those guys. That's not to say Simmons never leaves the house outside of hitting the gym for basketball, but the Sixers' All-Star has spent his fair share of time online playing games.

And with all of the time he has put into playing video games over the years, it comes as no surprise he's really talented with his off-court hobby. Lately, Simmons has had a lot more time to be able to stream his game sessions on Twitch.

Not only is he rehabbing a lower-back impingement, but the NBA star is also currently caught in the league's hiatus with the coronavirus going around. So Simmons has had the opportunity to play a lot more with his fellow NBA players.

On Saturday night, Slam Magazine decided to make an event out of the occasion. With all of the NBA players bored and ready to play video games, Slam put together its first Call of Duty tournament among pro athletes.

Along with Simmons was Utah Jazz's Royce O'Neale, New Orleans Pelicans' Josh Hart, and Kentucky commit, Terrence Clarke. On the other side was Miami Heat's Meyers Leonard, Utah's Donovan Mitchell, Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine, and Portland Trail Blazers' Mario Hezonja.

While both teams did a stellar job with some standout performances by their respective NBA players, Simmons' team took home the virtual silverware. And after the tournament went down, Slam went ahead and named Simmons the magazine's MVP of their first Call of Duty tournament this past weekend.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_