Simmons, Thybulle named to Australian Olympic roster

Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle have been named to the 24-man Australia Boomers Olympic team for the 2021 Tokyo Games. The final roster will be trimmed to 12 players later in the year.

This is the first Olympic nomination for both players. The pair joins ten other NBA players including former Sixer Ryan Broekhoff, who the team waived during training camp.

Simmons in particular appears extremely excited at the prospect.

'It would be an amazing honor to play for my country,' Simmons said. 'I know things are uncertain right now, but I've been in touch with coach [Brian] Goorjian and we're hopeful I can join the Boomers.'

Simmons was born in Melbourne, and remained in Australia until moving to the United States prior to his sophomore year of high school to enroll in Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. Thybulle holds dual citizenship after spending seven years in Sydney as a child where his father relocated the family for work.

There could potentially be some scheduling conflict if the Sixers were to make a deep run in the playoffs this year--the Tokyo Games are scheduled to begin July 23rd, the day after the latest date of the NBA Finals. But that would be problem Simmons and Thybulle would happily confront if it came to that.