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Sixers' Ben Simmons Drives All-Star Votes for Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris

Ben Simmons wants to see Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris in the big game.
Justin Grasso|
Sixers' Ben Simmons Drives All-Star Votes for Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris
Sixers' Ben Simmons Drives All-Star Votes for Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris

When the 2020-2021 NBA season started, it seemed the league would avoid putting together an All-Star game due to COVID-19. Lately, the NBA has worked on implementing a plan to make it happen, though. And as the season progresses, the NBA is inching closer to having the 2021 All-Star game take place in March,

For the Philadelphia 76ers they have several players that could compete in the big game. For starters, early MVP candidate Joel Embiid is near the top of the list through the first wave of fan votes, as expected.

With just Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo in front of him, Embiid is third-overall in the Eastern Conference frontcourt voting. Meanwhile, Sixers guard Ben Simmons just cracked the top ten in votes for guards so far.

Seeing Simmons and Embiid on their way to achieving All-Star status is far from surprising. After all, the two young stars have shared the All-Star court together for the last two seasons. However, Simmons wants another one of his Sixers teammates to be involved.

Tobias Harris has been in the NBA since 2011. Although the former first-round pick has consistently performed well for a wide range of teams throughout his career, he has never achieved the status of being an All-Star.

This year, the Sixers are hoping that changes. Through 20 games, Harris has matched his career-high of 20 points-per-game while shooting a career-high of 44-percent from three. In addition to his shooting, Harris has become much more aggressive by driving and scoring and has also improved a ton on defense.

Now, he just needs the votes to get him in. Simmons is here to help with that. And although Embiid is doing just fine in voting, Simmons still wanted to show love to his teammate as he clearly believes Embiid deserves a spot in the All-Star game's starting lineup.

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

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia

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