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NBA draft prospect Ben Simmons pens touching letter to his father

‘Because of your hard work I have opportunities that you didn’t have.’

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Louisiana State University standout Ben Simmons may be preparing for Thursday’s NBA draft, but he still found time to write a letter to his father, David Simmons, for Father’s Day.

“This journey to the NBA draft brings us full circle. Because of your hard work I have opportunities that you didn’t have. And for that I am grateful beyond words,” Ben Simmons wrote.

David Simmons played 13 seasons in the Australian National Basketball League and coached for two years with the Hunter Pirates, an Australian basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League from 2003-2006, when it was dissolved.

Ben Simmons, 19, is expected to be selected No. 1 by the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday at the NBA draft in New York.

Kelley Evans is a digital producer at Andscape. She is a food passionista, helicopter mom and an unapologetic Southerner who spends every night with the cast of The Young and the Restless by way of her couch.